I love cake. Chocolate cake, marble cake, cheesecake, ice cream cake, pineapple upside down cake, wedding cake, cupcake, pretty much any way you want to bake it, I'll take a piece of cake. And, I love Buddy the Cake Boss.
Do you know Buddy? Owner of Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken, New Jersey, star of his own TLC show, Cake Boss, you know, BUDDY? Well, Buddy is my perfect slice of passion cake.
Never heard of passion cake? Well that's probably because I just made it up! But here's what I'm talking about.
Passion cake (noun), as defined by the Melish Dictionary of Made Up Words: is a person who lives, breathes, dies, emulates, and exudes passion throughout their career, making it appear as if it's a piece of cake to accomplish being the best.
Buddy is a piece of passion cake. He is arguably one of the best cake bakers and decorators of our generation. Don't believe me? Catch an episode. You won't just salivate over the delicious cakes he produces, you'll also be amazed at the passionate energy he displays as he works on some of the most impossible works of cake art. He's a cake genius who's made himself THE BEST and surrounds himself with THE BEST. His army of family and employees share his passion for cake. It's a little family business that's struck it rich, one cake at a time.
Ready to be a passion cake? Sure you are. Here are the first few steps you need to start baking.
1. Identify - First things first, you have to identify the main ingredient in your passion cake. What is your passion? What do you love more than anything else? What makes you smile? What makes you want to jump out of bed or stay up all night? What gets you excited? What's the passion that shines out of you for everyone to take notice? Not sure? Can't identify it? Spend some time writing down your favorite activities, past times, or memories and see if there is a common denominator.
2. Evaluate - After you identify your main ingredient, you have to evaluate what you're currently baking. Are you in a position that uses that passion? And uses it to it's fullest? No? It's time to evaluate if you're ready, willing, and able to make a change so you can do what you love. Life's too short to be a piece of passionless cake.
3. Implement - Start baking! Get a plan together. Write down what you need to do to start putting your passion in action. You can start slow (think cupcake) and work your way up to it, or jump all in (think fully decorated wedding cake). You be the judge on that. Whatever you do, don't make excuses. The time is NOW!
4. Surround - Pick out your other ingredients. Surround yourself with a support system. People, who share your passion, vision, dream, or just want to see you happy. These people will help keep you accountable and be your biggest co-bakers.
It's never too late to start baking your own piece of heavenly passion cake. The moment you say the time has passed you by is the moment you've allowed your cake to burn.
By the way, did I mention I love cake?
I'm your Double-Tall, Non-Fat, No-Whip Sales Barista. How may I help you help yourself?
Stephanie Melish, one of the few, hand-selected, Gitomer-Certified Speakers is the ONLY Double-Tall, Non-Fat, No-Whip Sales Barista in the world! Stephanie trains, sells, and speaks to companies and associations all over the country. To book Stephanie for your next event, visit www.GitomerCertified.com or contact the friendly folks at Buy Gitomer via email or by calling 704-333-1112.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
It’s My sTORI and I’m Sticking to It!
Love her or hate her, Tori Spelling is capitalizing on a little something I call namesake branding. Recently launching an extension of her vast brand, Tori hit another branding home run by naming her new LA clothing store InvenTORI. Brilliant? No question.
After decades of only being known as the daughter of the late Aaron Spelling, and being ridiculed for her non-existing acting skills as virgin Donna while on Beverly Hills 90210 (although as a child of the Saved By the Bell years, I LOVED the dorky Violet Anne Bickerstaff), Tori has launched a mega-empire built on one thing, her name.
So NoTORIous (TV show), Tori & Dean: Inn Love (TV show), sTORI Telling (book), Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood (TV show), The Tori Spelling Collection (jewelry), uncharted terriTori (book), InvenTori (clothing store), Tori & Dean: sTORIbook Weddings (TV show).
Tori after Tori, she’s made an impressive namesake brand. Not a Tori Spelling fan? Think this is irrelevant because she’s my shining example? A few other great namesakes:
Gitomer, DUH! A branding king, each of his books and two of his companies are titled “Jeffrey Gitomer’s…” and his other company is BuyGitomer. Creative, smart, call to action. BUY – Gitomer!
Oprah, the queen of America, uses namesake branding too. The Oprah Winfrey Show, Harpo Studios (Oprah backwards), Harpo Productions, Harpo Films, OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network), O Magazine, O at Home, Oprah and Friends.
Got it?
But Tori isn’t stopping, her next book, celebraTORI releases this coming October. You may not think she is a great actress but she is a smart businesswoman. As a hands-on business owner of several companies, an author of three best-selling books, and appearing on reality TV, she has launched herself into a sTORIland all her own.
You may think there is not much to it. WRONG! Namesake branding is a moneymaking – image creating – story land.
What about your story? Your brand? Your image? Your creative spin? Your smart marketing appeal?
Think about all of the names connected to you. First name, last name, maiden name, middle name, nickname, company name, etc. How creatively congruent have you made your company? Or better yet, why should you take the time to namesake your branding? I’m so happy you asked!
1. It’s personable. Creating a brand around your name means you're creating a brand around YOU! And what’s more personable than a person? Doing business with someone who has poured out his or her heart, soul, and passion into their work is a must! And if they use their name it’s a no-brainer. I want to do business with someone who is committed to their work, their business, their industry, and their success. What bigger commitment can you make than putting your name on it? (Putting a ring on it – but that is usually followed by some kind of name change!)
2. It’s recognizable. The easiest way to get lost in the big business shuffle is to not be recognizable to your customers. Each of your products, services, and marketing efforts must have a consistent thread woven through their name. It all starts there. If you can be creative and consistent with the name, your customers will have immediate recognition of your personal brand.
3. It’s achievable. Capitalizing on your name is the easiest thing you can do. Thanks to your parents, they gave you one; all you have to do is start using it! Be creative, be wild, be out of the box, be different, BUT be uniform. I may work for a company that is not my own – but that didn’t stop me from creating my own brand – Stephanie Melish, the Double-Tall, Non-Fat, No-Whip Sales Barista, and it’s worked! If I can make it happen, so can you.
That’s my sTORI and I’m sticking to it!
I’m Stephanie Melish, your Double-Tall, Non-Fat, No-Whip Sales Barista. How may I help you help yourself?
Stephanie Melish, one of the few, hand-selected, Gitomer-Certified Speakers is the ONLY Double-Tall, Non-Fat, No-Whip Sales Barista in the world! Stephanie trains, sells, and speaks to companies and associations all over the country. To book Stephanie for your next event, visit www.GitomerCertified.com or contact the friendly folks at Buy Gitomer via email or by calling 704-333-1112.
After decades of only being known as the daughter of the late Aaron Spelling, and being ridiculed for her non-existing acting skills as virgin Donna while on Beverly Hills 90210 (although as a child of the Saved By the Bell years, I LOVED the dorky Violet Anne Bickerstaff), Tori has launched a mega-empire built on one thing, her name.
So NoTORIous (TV show), Tori & Dean: Inn Love (TV show), sTORI Telling (book), Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood (TV show), The Tori Spelling Collection (jewelry), uncharted terriTori (book), InvenTori (clothing store), Tori & Dean: sTORIbook Weddings (TV show).
Tori after Tori, she’s made an impressive namesake brand. Not a Tori Spelling fan? Think this is irrelevant because she’s my shining example? A few other great namesakes:
Gitomer, DUH! A branding king, each of his books and two of his companies are titled “Jeffrey Gitomer’s…” and his other company is BuyGitomer. Creative, smart, call to action. BUY – Gitomer!
Oprah, the queen of America, uses namesake branding too. The Oprah Winfrey Show, Harpo Studios (Oprah backwards), Harpo Productions, Harpo Films, OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network), O Magazine, O at Home, Oprah and Friends.
Got it?
But Tori isn’t stopping, her next book, celebraTORI releases this coming October. You may not think she is a great actress but she is a smart businesswoman. As a hands-on business owner of several companies, an author of three best-selling books, and appearing on reality TV, she has launched herself into a sTORIland all her own.
You may think there is not much to it. WRONG! Namesake branding is a moneymaking – image creating – story land.
What about your story? Your brand? Your image? Your creative spin? Your smart marketing appeal?
Think about all of the names connected to you. First name, last name, maiden name, middle name, nickname, company name, etc. How creatively congruent have you made your company? Or better yet, why should you take the time to namesake your branding? I’m so happy you asked!
1. It’s personable. Creating a brand around your name means you're creating a brand around YOU! And what’s more personable than a person? Doing business with someone who has poured out his or her heart, soul, and passion into their work is a must! And if they use their name it’s a no-brainer. I want to do business with someone who is committed to their work, their business, their industry, and their success. What bigger commitment can you make than putting your name on it? (Putting a ring on it – but that is usually followed by some kind of name change!)
2. It’s recognizable. The easiest way to get lost in the big business shuffle is to not be recognizable to your customers. Each of your products, services, and marketing efforts must have a consistent thread woven through their name. It all starts there. If you can be creative and consistent with the name, your customers will have immediate recognition of your personal brand.
3. It’s achievable. Capitalizing on your name is the easiest thing you can do. Thanks to your parents, they gave you one; all you have to do is start using it! Be creative, be wild, be out of the box, be different, BUT be uniform. I may work for a company that is not my own – but that didn’t stop me from creating my own brand – Stephanie Melish, the Double-Tall, Non-Fat, No-Whip Sales Barista, and it’s worked! If I can make it happen, so can you.
That’s my sTORI and I’m sticking to it!
I’m Stephanie Melish, your Double-Tall, Non-Fat, No-Whip Sales Barista. How may I help you help yourself?
Stephanie Melish, one of the few, hand-selected, Gitomer-Certified Speakers is the ONLY Double-Tall, Non-Fat, No-Whip Sales Barista in the world! Stephanie trains, sells, and speaks to companies and associations all over the country. To book Stephanie for your next event, visit www.GitomerCertified.com or contact the friendly folks at Buy Gitomer via email or by calling 704-333-1112.
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