3 Steps to a successful BRAND strategy

Branding is certainly a critical necessary part to any successful marketing plan, and a Major starting point for any successful product/service/Operations plan, but how do you know which steps to take to gain traction in the marketplace and where or how do you establish what makes up your BRAND, and what you stand for? How do you do it so that you get the respect and appreciation to deliver a product or service to a demand for our services and products so we have enough sales to maintain our overhead and CAPITAL expenses so that we can stay in business more than the average failing 2 year business. Enthusiasm and passion certainly have to be prominent and prevalent. When I first started in the music business, I made the mistake of not sticking to the style of music that I was immediately drawn to. I tried to launch a pop oriented CD. I was trying to be an Acoustic singer songwriter, when ROCK was who I really was and who I most closely resembled in my tastes. Make no mistake; it was a major mistake. What was more of a mistake was the lack of volume of just doing it. Some of this could have been avoided by really studying the history of guys like Axl or Dave Grohl more closely. These guys were out there just doing a high volume of writing and performing at more than every opportunity, and creating opportunities where they weren't given to them.

There was just too much TIME spent on other things, and not enough TIME spent really grinding and putting in Hours and weeks of just writing and performing. When you want to be successful, it's all about VOLUME OF ACTION. Even the rolling Stones did a lot of gigs and covers when they first started. I invested more TIME into Engineering and working. All Three of these could easily be a full TIME job each, and they were, so only one of them would rise fast enough to sustain a meager income. So my advice to anyone in their first or second year in business, preferably before even launching a business is to establish BRAND. Establish your commitment and focus on volume like never before. I know it sounds Obsessive or bordering the margins of insanity, but sleep only when you're tired. If you want real success; this is what it takes. I'll even say it again and maybe a third TIME so that people really hear it; sleep when you're tired! If you sleep more than 5-7 hours/day; you're fn out of shape and you need to get your health first priority. invest in good food. do not sacrifice on quality of food. get in the gym! Mcdonalds and dunking donuts everyday will not fuel a successful mind.

To answer these questions in regard to branding, we must look at some of the most successful Brands to get a clearer picture of what it takes to BE a successful BRAND. Could it be that it's just a personality? Is it more than just a personality? When it comes to acting, sure It really is purely just a personality and that personality is consistent throughout most of an actor's career. Is there some kind of tangible deliverable quality. Is it really more some combination of Quality schedule and price? Perhaps it's TIME to market. The faster we get to market, the faster our customer will know about us and potentially buy, but what if the quality is mediocre and the price is what the customers can bear to deliver, but then the product breaks after two weeks. What happens when TELL WOOD of TELL INDUSTRIES releases a bullshit set of headphones or products under the BRAND plug & GO, and they only last two weeks, and then break. The reliability is not that of SIX SIGMA! Tell industries does not follow a six sigma business model, and clearly need a business consultant. $20, but they don't last. perhaps some of them do. DR. DRE's BEATs headphones. All of his products are pretty well known for high quality, but they are extremely high in price where most people cannot afford them. So here we are again at the Ferrari vs. Honda analogy. And of course HONDA has the accura, and toyota has the lexus, but none of these are FERRARI pricing most consumers out of the market.

JIM CAREY vs. JACK NICHOLSON

ARNOLD Vs. SYLVESTER STALLONE!

BRUCE Springsteen Vs. W. Axl Rose

Michael Jordan Vs. Dennis Rodman

OPRAH vs. ELLEN (where is the performance or quality; in what area?)

DUnkin donuts vs. Starbucks

Mcdonalds Vs. Burger King vs. Wendy's

Facebook vs. Instagram vs. Twitter

BMW VS. TOYOTA

Honda vs. HUYNDAI vs. Ford

Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi,

Beefeater vs. Smirnoff or Tangeray or Bombay

Stoli vs. Grey goose vs. Absolute

Bacardi vs. Captain Morgan

APPLE vs. MICROSOFT

H&M vs. GAP vs. Abercrombie

Bank of America vs. Chase

CLEARLY, BRAND is very important. Some of us relate more to ELLEN than with OPRAH, or with ARNOLD than JIM CAREY. Based on the above brands, what do you think are the three most important parts of a successful BRAND? please comment below on what you think are the most important parts of a successful BRAND.

From my research, I believe there are 3 critical parts to a successful BRAND, and it has more to do with performance than logo! It has more to do with quality than the name. Personally, I think a large part of a Strong BRAND is the EVOLUTION of what it eventually BECOMES as a product and what it delivers reliably LONG after a period of development. When discussing BRAND, I feel its imperative that we acknowledge that not one of these brands experienced a climb of 3-6 months, or even 5-10 years. Even HONDA was probably 20-30 years in the making or more before the Civic was a highly successful product.

Having read some books on branding/marketing, including POWERBRANDING, and studied several real brands, i'm convinced that there's more to it than just a logo. There's more to a BRAND than a name. Quality and performance are most likely forefront, and probably synonymous with a strong BRAND. That quality and performance don't just happen overnight, though. They are developed over TIME. The shorter the TIME, the more effort involved. You probably wouldn't buy a BRAND just based on lifestyle or other characteristics of appearance without some real quality of performance. There has to be some minimum level of quality to get accepted and gain customer loyalty and respect. I also venture to guess that reliability is also a critical part of a successful BRAND. Michael Jordan was reliably and deniably superior repeatedly with consistency. It wasn't chance, and it wasn't just on a good night. I'll discuss what I think are the most critical parts to a BRAND strategy, but I believe it starts with a decision and a commitment to one thing, and the STORY of the development of excellence in that one thing is where a BRAND builds loyalty. I believe OPRAH's excellence was in her generosity, not how in shape she was and that established a strong alliance. OPRAH's weaknesses were also a strength, because they aligned her with a different group of people, very much the way many brands do.

1. Decision and commitment to development of excellence to what you align with. with this story of development, comes content.
2. SWOT (or the makeup of where your strengths are, and how they fit into the overall strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats picture)
3. The name, logo, and everything else I feel is built over TIME. My honest feeling is that you will NOT establish a strong BRAND around a logo. The STRONG BRAND will come first, and the logo/name will evolve with it. Trying to focus on your LOGO as the center of your future or previous success is a bad idea. It is not because of coca cola's logo that they're successful. It is what they evolved as and what they've TRIED & tested.

BRAND STORY!

FREEDOM is probably the most important thing in my life, and the single most important part of my BRAND, and from which I get most, if not all excitement, inspiration, motivation, and so much more. I cannot imagine being stuck in a federal or even local prison. My mindset and approach to a variety of problems is definitely based on that need for freedom and in achlowedgment of the risk if for a second I decide to TAKE PHYSICAL ACTION on anything i'm adamantly passionate about. Baring anything physical, i've learned that anything else requires a substantial education that no one, even myself can gain solely from a university education. A bachelor's degree will not teach you people skills. A bachelor's degree will not teach you negotiation skills. A bachelor's degree will not teach you persuasion, or many other skill required to be uber successful. These skills are learned by REAL enthusiastic proactive practice. Traveling will give you all of that, and the price is in the ticket. Anything on top of that, you can put on CREDIT, if you're lucky. I recommend against relying on anyone other than yourself. The longer you rely on other people, including an employer, the worse off you become. Get yourself out of the habit of thinking you can rely on anyone else, because in this life, you never know when that day will come, when no one will be there to help you at the most critical moment. I've had several of these moments, including street fights and more. This life is not a FN joke! The laws of the united states do NOT protect it's citizens' rights in foreign countries, at least not in the manner it does in it's own terms of jurisdiction. HELL, the usa can't even protect it's citizens' rights under it's own Jurisdiction, and that's why there is the second amendment rights, but exercise that amendment and you must defend it legally with substantial CAPITAL, or you're going to prison; indefinitely! interesting. Did you catch that subtle nuance? That's right! CAPITAL! if you kill someone, not only do you need to pay someone a lot of money to defend you, but you also may even need to say that you did NOT do it, when the UNITED states has a history of needing people to stand up for the beliefs of it's citizens with the right to defend it's citizens with FIRE POWER. We live in a country full of overpaid undereducated people; what is it 99%? only the top 1% are relatively wealthy, and what percentage of those are actually properly educated? What percentage of these people can actually speak correctly, with proper grammar and proper spelling? Many americans only know english and they can't even speak ENGLISH correctly. ITs FUCKED up and FUCKING embarrassing! We've got a bunch of fucking douchebags in this country. WE have citizens of other countries and they speak more than two languages fluently and correctly! Sad! What does that say about the government and the processes which deliver the results this country achieves? Easy answer; they're not run like a corporation using LEAN and SIX SIGMA concepts in OPERATIONS. Perhaps that will change with Mr. PRESIDENT TRUMP; I believe it will. He doesn't have an easy job, but easy wasn't anywhere or anything near or associated with TRUMP's BRAND. There certainly is the opportunity. But talking about freedom doesn't really establish all the strong parts of my BRAND. QUALITY is MY first priority. Quality of life. Quality in my friendships. OH, and of course, quality of life includes quality FUCKING PRODUCTS! I buy my 15th set of headphones; and they better last more than two weeks; or the BRAND name will go on a list i'm a polar opposite to in my BRAND, and i'm adamant about these FUCKING BULLSHIT CUNTs launching bullshit fucking products just to make money. They can go FUCK Themselves. Make no mistake, though; if you're trying to make money at the expense of other people's loss, you better be very careful!

Freedom is certainly a significant element and building block of my BRAND. I don't believe in investing in real estate as a home. I don't want a BIG house. I want a small condo in MIDTOWN MANHATTAN. EASY to clean, easy to get to easy to access all the amenities of the city. I've read countless books and one of those books by ROBERTY KYOSAKI, taught me the value of not being tied to bills, but instead investing in building assets. When your real estate holdings change from your primary residence to being your business, you have suddenly put a large amount of your own capital at risk. This risk is not justified, because the RETURN on that potential RISK is not worth the potential losses, but this isn't a financial discussion. I'm not going to explain why in this excerpt, because this isn't an OPERATIONS or FINANCIAL 'Lesson', although I could probably talk for days on these two subjects.

I moved to Danbury, CT. in FALL of 2008 after taking a job in DEFENSE, which was against my BRAND strategy (being more environmentally conscious and interested in BIOMEDICAL or helping Wounded veterans or Car accident victims raped financially by insurance companies), and if you're not into what i'm describing above, please stop reading now and do not read through to the end. I don't want to give you any of this information i'm about to provide. Not realizing at that point how important BRAND is in anyone's life, I had already traveled to 14 different countries in 2006. I'd had enough bullshit relationships to realize I wanted an independent MODEL or nothing at all. I'd seen the best Italian, Australian, and Swedish girls anyone could ever see all topless on a beach in GREECE. I didn't care if she was a high profile Vicoria's secret model, but nonetheless, any girl I dated had to be a model of some sort. Shortly after i moved to LA, I found one. Just before I left, I found another one. I was blown away by how frequently MODELs were approaching ME at awards after hours parties. I thought it was FUNNY. I was just doing my own thing. I didn't want a girl in my life. and the first encounter with one of the models was purely CARNAL within 10 minutes of meeting up with her. I was blown away by how obvious she made her desires. I've heard a lot of dudes talking about how girls make them buy them drinks, or play hard to get. Those girls will never even get AROUND me, never mind have a chance to talk to me. I don't waste TIME, and Somehow I think most SMART girls can pick up on that. LA is full of dreams, but it has to START with YOU! ANY success, really, in this life, STARTS with YOU!

Most people these days subscribe to a work/life balance, and a get along, or move along attitude; an average and mediocre lifestyle. no thank you! I don't stop! I don't stop unless I fall asleep for a couple hours, and then i'm back on it. I'll tell you a story later about how three rugby dudes and I were partying at a campsite and an american came over and one of the Aussies said, "dude; go back to sleep: if you can't sleep, you're not tired!" That changed my perspective forever. Everyone seems to be ok with just making it work, rather than going the extra mile. I had no idea at the time how much of a waste of time it was to take such a misaligned position relative to my BRAND. That Fall, I spent my weekends working at EAST 93rd street, in a BROWNSTONE on the upper east side of MANHATTAN doing custom finish panel carpentry, built-ins, stairs, and more as a second part time job to supplement my income and live local to work. How is it that an Engineer works so hard to graduate college in time, work, and $$$, and then has to work a part time job to make ends meet? I'll tell you how; it's called BAD BUSINESS! College is NOT worth what people think it is. Start your OWN BUSINESS starting with your BRAND. I'd finally made my decision. I was done giving my time away for next to nothing. $25-50/hr to work with kooks in defense and bad management in any corporation was in my past. I was now committed to being in the driver seat. forget MANAGEMENT; they don't know what they're doing. None of them know how to get anything done, never mind done correctly. Forget quality, they can't even focus on getting something done that's billable. they want to push paper all day or pay someone else to push paper, and waste their time. I'm done dealing with stupid people.

I'm done buying bullshit coffee at bullshit coffee shops run by bullshit managers and owned by morons who don't know how to manage a business never mind own a business. TRUST me; I know GREAT COFFEE, because I've BEEN to fn ITALY, and BALI, and Costa RICA, and so much more. I know more than you think. I'm just not bragging about all I know, because I bill you for it or file in COURT for civil action in contract expectations through someone else. Just having a business now doesn't mean you're successful and doesn't mean you won't fail. If you're not growing exponentially, you're in fact failing in my opinion. You don't understand the basics of business, probably because you've never studied a real OPERATIONS plan. You've never worked for a company who practices LEAN and SIX SIGMA Concepts. You have no idea what those concepts even mean, never mind what they convert to or how to execute on them. you're just another american standard kook fn dumbass.

I was going out every night with a bunch of the guys I was working with to have dinner out at a different restaurant (AUTHENTIC Mexican at TACO TACO on 1st or 2nd ave between 80th and 90th somewhere, or INDIAN on the LOWER east side at MILON, or ITALIAN) and enjoying Manhattan as though I lived there. I was in fact living there on the weekend. It was perfect. I LOVE MANHATTAN, and plan to move very soon. I was busy during the day and out relaxing doing everything I wanted all day. That was a good decision to work that part time job and at this point, I feel that part time jobs are the GATEWAY to REAL success IF in fact you already have a FULL time job that pays the bills. That's a tough life. It's very busy, and time consuming, with no real guarantee of REAL lucrative success, and As long as I was doing that, I was getting ahead, but it was a lot of work and again: very time consuming. You might think that a 6th generation AMERICAN might not have to work so hard, but that's an attitude thing. Its my fault that I didn't have the level of education I should have. It took learning how to WORK in order to learn how to be SMART. once you figure out that you don't want to have to WORK your entire life, you start coming up with ways to be SMART! You realize you need to KNOW things that you DON'T KNOW, and that its your own fault for not fully knowing and committing to your own BRAND. However, the positive of that was that I was gaining FINISH carpentry experience and connections on the upper east side of MANHATTAN. we were working with TAO CON, a Construction company based in NEW YORK CITY - MANHATTAN.

Following that; I was laid off. I was doing what I was asked but as in any AMERICAN company, especially DEFENSE, SENIOR management is just SENIOR MANAGEMENT, and ACTION and RESULTS ARE CERTAINLY not their STRENGTH. Having learned how to work, I can honestly say, i'm better, smarter, and much faster than they will EVER be. That's pretty BOLD! Its very accurate. I learned how and what those idiots do. They do a lot of walking around and talking and meeting, all of which gets ZERO results. BOTTOM LINE; THEY're DUMBASSES for lack of a better word, because most normal people only respond to simple language that they understand. I had planned my move to Los ANGELES. in 2011, My GREAT GRANDMOTHER, one of my two biggest admirers (there other being my GRANDMOTHER on my DAD's SIDE), PASSED away, and I realized that She lived to enjoy life at the fullest because she was extremely active and pursued things with no regrets. Meaning; take the risk and make it happen, without accepting failure as an option. It was the traditional american make it work or DIE ATTITUDE and approach. It was instilled in the kids growing up from the immigrants that had come before them. Somehow, that same attitude is lost these days. That whole take the first step, and take the leap of faith; well, it's all GONE. People have changed their approach to relying on someone else to provide them the living that they feel they deserve or earn daily. Immigrants came to the united states legally, and so much more, and started their own business, and made it work, aligning themselves with the locals and establishing their quality and reliability of product and reputation. BRAND is just another way of saying REPUTATION. AXL ROSE is only one example of how and why you must be WHO you ARE! NOW, he has friends better than his family ever was from a country we know very little about; BRAZIL. Before moving to Danbury, CT, I was seeing a Brazilian Girl, and I learned a lot about friends and family and genuine love that I'd never been exposed to before. I'd finally found LOVE regardless of what the outcome would be. It wasn't about JOKES. It wasn't about Condescension or any other false pretense. It was LOVE, and it was with no strings attached. It would always be there as friends. It's amazing how much you don't need People around, just to be loved; you can be loved without having those people around. That love from REAL friends creates a strength in us that is unparalleled and incomparable to anything your family could EVER provide you with. It is The one thing that will keep you happy, ALIVE, and exuberant, and motivate you to seek SUPERIORITY and EXCELLENCE in everything you do out of respect for those who have shown their infinite love for you. I Found a lot of that before meeting Her, while traveling to over 14 countries in 2006 for 6 months.

I met more AMAZING BRAZILIAN PEOPLE who are still my friends, in DANBURY, CT. and was a frequent customer at BANANA BRAZIL Buffet and Brazilian Barbecue on MAIN STREET in DANBURY. I then moved to LOS ANGELES, where I met some great guys to train in the gym with, making more friends and contacts. with all that love deep in my heart and ready to blow up and build something of value. I started studying LAW as a whim because of something that had interested me or somehow effected me in my life. I've been studying Law, securities, and Intellectual property ever since. I've learned where and HOW the wealthy get wealthy. Personal success is one thing, and reading Napoleon HILL's 17 keys, or going to my ALPHA PARTNERS, MLP FB page might help you with personal success; but being able to teach it and influence it's causes in those people you work with is what creates real WEALTH. Its capitalizing on the hourly commission of someone else's work and time, is where you will gain enough success to have everything you've ever wanted and more. Learn to be a provider rather than just a 'BOSS', and you'll have people coming to YOU for a job, rather than always looking for a job. This is one simple attitudinal change you MUST make to build real materialized success into your life.

Realize first, that you are now officially inside the marketing section of your business plan!  Once you realize that your BRAND is a major part of your Marketing plan, and realize that you need a real active Business PLAN to Succeed, you can start taking action to materialize each stage of your plan. At the very least, you must have a plan. If that plan isn't in document form, it most likely isn't solidified in your mind enough to take carefully executed action on. As a side note, There are two other major sections (operations and finance) of any successful business plan, but this lesson is focused on a micro section of that business plan inside your marketing plan. 

Inside your marketing plan are five major critical parts.  The first most important of those parts is your BRAND strategy.  When it comes to BRANDING, you have a wide variety of tasks, ways of thinking, and consistent action habits and behavior patterns from which to build and establish your BRAND, in what you've come from and where you're going as a person and as a business, with the things you consider most important as priority.  There are 3 major action steps! 

1. The all powerful and emotionally empowering act of making a DECISION! This is where you DECIDE and COMMIT to being something and someone you've always wanted to be.  This involves the decision of establishing your priority, and there's nothing else in the world you'd rather be or invest your time in. How and why will everything you're interested in come together in ONE business. MICHAEL JORDAN and DENNIS RODMAN are two totally different BRANDS, yet both very WELL KNOWN. It's not because someone invested in them. It's not because someone told them what or how to do something. It started with THEM! Doing this BRAND stuff and making the decision and commitment is not easy!  You have to realize that you must sacrifice a lot of what you have been emotionally attached to for so long. You need the courage and confidence to Take the LEAP of FAITH, ideally with all the risk mostly mitigated with a sound financial plan and a stable launchable OPERATIONS. At this point, you must decide what you're going to focus on.  DECIDE which things are most important to YOU, and don't let what others tell you is important influence your direction or approach.  It takes all types of people to make the world go around. You simply CANNOT be or do everything for everyone.  That means that unfortunately, you have to 'polarize' some of your potential clients and say goodbye to those opportunities forever at risk of opening more doors to opportunities more aligned with your current BRAND strategy. Perfect example Is SEBASTIAN BACH (BAZ of SKID ROW) committing in highschool to being a singer and making that his focus. HE DID however start at a young age in a TRAVELING CHOIR. Fortunately, he got the support of his Father (an artist/teacher), which for some people is difficult. The first part of a successful BRAND strategy is 'alignment'. Shortly after this commitment, BAZ was able to connect with Jon Bon Jovi, and although was already a great singer, connected with someone who could acknowledge his gift. If BAZ hadn't made the commitment, he would not have come in direct contact with Jon Bon JOVI, or HIS BEST FRIEND AXL ROSE. Who are those people whom you most easily get along with and enjoy being around.  What hobbies, activities, and spare time interests do you share with them? This also helps your productivity as you begin surrounding yourself with these people.  ENVIRONMENT is a very important part of anyone's happiness, and this is true for any corporation. I'm not into GOLF! I'm not into tennis!  I've done far more in my life with far less than most people even before being retired.  19 countries and being a professional international performer doesn't come as a mistake or as luck. It is BUILT one step at a time. For me, and my active aggressive surfer, boxer, MMA ADDICT, natural, environmentally conscious, friendly, alternative medicine, alternative energy lifestyle; the more I'm around these people, the happier I am; because this creates the environment I enjoy and where I'm most productive and positive about my future potential, both in business and personal.  I'm a solutions guy!  I make it happen!  I figure it out.  I've learned that success is NEVER a result of doing nothing. I decide to do it, take the initiative, get it done, and go the extra mile.  At this stage of your BRAND strategy, you must decide one of two directions.  CHANGE or NO change.  If you're going to CHANGE or 'amend' WHAT and WHO you are, then WHAT & WHO are you changing into, or becoming? Who are your influences? What are some of those BRANDS? As JON BON JOVI said, "It's my life", and quoted FRANKIE in doing it 'my WAY'. don't be afraid to 'BE YOURSELF', as CHRIS CORNELL said.
2. Let's do your SWOT! Now that you've decided and committed to being ok with who the hell it is that you are, 'fat or skinny' and want to become; let's commit by establishing your strengths from which to build your direction and overall future value proposition.  You will not be successful focusing on your failures or weaknesses, although those can be and will get repaired at a later date, from which to build ASSETS. You will, however, be more successful focusing on where you've had your most success, and where your real strengths are.  How did you do in HIGHSCHOOL. MATH? SCIENCE? ENGLISH? HISTORY? ART? If you're a couch potato, you're most likely the best or most suited toward being a desk job type person, spectator, and agent for someone who is not a spectator but instead a player or owner of the team, or ACTOR/ACTRESS, producer, writer, director etc.  You should become good on the phone, because you probably aren't good in person, because you don't make health your first priority.  At this stage, the only way for you to be successful is to see the positives and sell them for all your clients (the athletes, musicians, writers, producers, actors, directors, etc), and answer this question for yourself; 'who are your favorites?'  Start looking for up and coming artists and start partnering with them.  YOU are all part of a team of rising entertainment professionals or perhaps even technology gurus depending on your BRAND.
3. CONTENT - Bottom line; you need to provide massive VALUE to your colleagues and associates demonstrating your LOVE and passion for what you're interested in. This is VERY important. This is the inner workings of your 'Affiliate marketing section' where your social networking must expand to deliver you success in the form of paying customers. People want to know that you are fully VESTED in pursuing your career full time PLUS additional OVERTIME. They want to know that you are the first one there in the morning, and the last one to leave there at night. This is the classic Business Model for REAL personal success. You must establish PERSONAL success before people will gravitate toward you and want to be part of your team. You must give people a real reason to respect and appreciate you! Information is a great way to do this. You want to save people time, by offering them something they need, and don't know, or know but can't do because of time. Bottom line is that you need to provide value to gain respect. That value comes in many forms. We can all learn a valuable lesson from the Coca-Cola BRAND, and that is the frequency of their content and consistency in depth and breadth of their Moral and Genetic code.

I think best in terms of analogies.  You would never try to sell someone a Ferrari who's top priority is a leisurely beach style of living.  They'll have to park their Ferrari in a parking lot, because they can't take it on the beach.  They're parking it at risk!  You most likely might be successful in selling them a 4x4 vehicle that operates well on the beach such as a FORD F150 or a CJ seven Jeep Wrangler or even some other four-wheel-drive vehicles.  If their most frequent and consistent activity is hanging out on the beach when they're not working or even while they're working, then you would probably want to make sure that you're selling them a beach style oriented vehicle.  

On the other hand, if you've got someone who is an ALPHA type personality who is never really sitting around and relaxing or hanging out on the beach, or always in the gym, always working on a business, always independent, and doing more than they have time for on any given day, then speed, quality, and efficiency would probably be a priority in their life and you might want to try to sell them a Ferrari, or Lamborghini, and a host of other similar lifestyle oriented products and services.  

Another one of my favorite BRANDS is Coca-Cola.  Coca-Cola has both a weakness and a strength in the chemicals and processes that make their flagship product.  They use corn syrup to create their product.  In a way, its like being in an interview and saying my strengths is that I'm focused! But at that same time, I'm telling my interviewer that I'm unaware of external circumstances and influences that might alter my situation and be too tunnel-visioned.  

PEPSI has done a similar thing, but the flavor is vastly different.  I recently traveled to Brooklyn and noticed that an original brand and beverage, Manhattan Special espresso coffee soda is closer to Coke than Pepsi is.  For active people, either Coke OR Pepsi is a reasonable Produxt to drink occasionally, but for leisurely Oriented people, who might be overweight, Coca-Cola or any soda is not recommended and actually recommended against.  That tells you a lot about strengths and weaknesses and SWOT analysis.  Depending on who you are, and your lifestyle, Coca-Cola OR Pepsi is a reasonable sometimes beneficial product to drink.  Some skinny people don't have enough sugar and struggle to make active gains in the gym, because they simply don't consume enough carbs.  You must have substantial carbs prior to a workout to slam through a heavy weightraining regime.  However, if you're not at all active and always sitting around and have a desk job, you'll never burn enough calories to make it a good idea to consume more than a few sips.  you have to start looking at the brand before you even think about which direction your business is going in.  When it comes to Coca-Cola there's something called a SWOT analysis and you can do this for any BRAND. it usually is one of the first steps in establishing your brand direction after deciding who you want to be or where you want to go.  I'm sure everyone is familiar with the 'cost quality schedule' triangle. It's very much a commonly known business concept I first learned from one of my mentors at Bristol voice studios on mass Ave in Boston across from Berklee music.  I will never except anything less than the best of quality when it comes to purchasing anything. I will more likely spend the money to buy the superior product if I can afford it.  If I cannot afford it, I will most likely try to partner with the company or find someway to do a trade with them.  This is where you get into concepts such as business to business (B2B) marketing and all this type of thing.  For marketing personnel, this is more frequently referred to as cobranding or comarketing. You can call it an affiliate program, or whatever.  

Cheers!

Elijah D. Stover

ENTREPRENEUR

Www.AlphaPartnersMLP.com