Not too long ago I wrote a post about Kim Kardashian and her savvy branding and marketing strategy, so I was more than thrilled when I ran across this article on AtlantaPost.com.
Kim Kardashian might be famous for dating black male celebrities and flashing major cleavage, but her business sense is sharp and also to be applauded. No stranger to selling herself well, the sex tape scandal star turned reality TV queen has worked her marketing magic yet again through her love life. Capitalizing mightily on her recent marriage to Kris Humphries, it is estimated that Kim was able to produce most of her $10 million celebrity wedding for free. She (and the corporate interests behind her) also stand to make $17.9 million off the nuptials — in profit. If you look at the total value raked in by the Kardashian clan for her heavenly union, that’s almost $30 million in cash, goods and services. How was a relatively talent-free but very pretty woman able to do this? There is something to be gained from mimic{k}ing Kim’s self-promoting genius. Her wedding is a case study of business wisdom we can apply to everyday scenarios.
Tap Your Personal Life to Promote Your Business
Kim Kardashian and her entire family have built their empire on over-sharing the intimate details of their lives. Her wedding is no different. In fact, by exposing every element from the proposal to the wedding shower, Kim was able to build interest for the big event (and sell every moment in the timeline). In her article on Kardashian’s marketing acumen, Marianne Bickle writes: “One of the best marketing tactics is to… Let people and organizations know what your business is about, how you benefit the community and upcoming events. Toot your horn so that the entire world may hear the music.” Your level of sharing might not be as high as Kim’s but your brand will benefit from spreading knowledge of as much of yourself as you can in a positive way
Every sassy savvy woman should have a pretty bag. A purse that catches the eye of almost any woman or trendy guy. Brand yourself with the help of fashion, just ask First lady Michelle O.
My mom has always said I need a good designer bag to complement my stylish professional attire. She is so right, but if you cant afford it or stomach paying that much for a purse with someone else's name on it I completely understand. In fact Kohl's Vera Wang collection has some beautiful purses as well as TJ Max's Jessica Simpson collection.
Now, to those who want to splurge & treat themselves, this Seventies Hounds tooth Gucci bag retails at $1800. You can even have your initials embossed at the top of the bag underneath the handles.
When I first saw this purse on singer songwriter Keri Hilson it was immediately love at first sight(FOR THE BAG, OF COURSE!) LOL.
Although it appears they may have misinterpreted some of the interviewer's questions, they have a beautiful home and are a beautiful couple. They seem like best friend business partners, something I'm definitely in the market for.
Hell hath no fury like a woman … on reality television, especially if that show is “Basketball Wives.”
By now everyone’s seen the infamous episode where Tami Roman strikes Meeka Claxton in the face while on vacation in Europe and now Meeka would like to tell you her side of that exchange and why she doesn’t think Ms. Roman is going to leave the show.
Are you ready?
ESSENCE.com: Did you join “Basketball Wives” to promote your real estate business? Is it odd that you’re the only wife? MEEKA CLAXTON: No, we’re good if we sell one house per year because the average commission is six figures. I thought basketball wives were being misrepresented. I didn’t look for the opportunity, it came to me from a mutual friend Shaunie O'Neal and I share who suggested I join the show. I talked it over with friends and decided to join and show the other side of wives’ lives. It was weird being the only wife, I didn’t know how the other girls would receive me. But I was excited because I wanted to show my great husband, family, business and work we do in the community.
ESSENCE.com: Did you and Tami Roman have issues before you joined “Basketball Wives”? MEEKA: She’s from the older school of wives, [her ex-husband] Kenny Anderson retired the first year my husband Speedy started playing around 2000 so I didn’t know Tami at all. I’m sure she doesn’t know me either. She’s just a ‘negative Nancy.’
ESSENCE.com: Did you expect her to hit you at the club in Italy? MEEKA: No! I didn’t even know we were going to have a conversation, Tami’s opinion never mattered to me. I think that’s why she kept at it but, like I tell my children, you have to ignore bullies. It wasn’t until I was escorted out [of the club] that I realized that she had on flip-flops and to me if you’re dressed like that in a club, you’re ready to fight.
ESSENCE.com: Why file a lawsuit against her for a reality show fight. Is that even legal? MEEKA: I’m well within my rights. I refuse to fight on TV. It was embarrassing. We were the only Black people there and we’re adding to the negative stereotypes of Black women. I was disappointed in Tami as a woman and adult, [the lawsuit is] about consequences to your actions. My kids won’t see this. They aren’t watching ‘Basketball Wives.' Tami’s attitude was so toxic I had to spend a day apart from the girls before [the fight happened], then that happens?
ESSENCE.com: Tami’s said she’s going to quit if you return next season … MEEKA: I don’t think she’s going anywhere. She’s been doing this television thing for a few years so I think this is where she wants to be.
ESSENCE.com: What do you think about the public outcry over how “Basketball Wives” negatively portrays black women? MEEKA: I feel bad that Shaunie O’Neal is taking the brunt of the criticism because we’re contributing to the problem with our actions. That’s where I’m going with [my lawsuit] with Tami, you can’t do that.
ESSENCE.com: It’s presumable that Shaunie greenlit your fight ... MEEKA: I don’t know how much creative control she has. People often have producer as their job title but are too busy to be present. I hope she didn’t sign off because that’s sad, especially from someone who was actually a wife.
ESSENCE.com: What did you think of Eric Williams throwing a drink on ex-wife Jennifer Williams? MEEKA: I’m glad the cameras were there, God knows what he would’ve done if they weren’t. He seemed angry. That’s the thing, there’s so much more to our lifestyle. It’s a crazy, jet-setting, blessed life, and there’s more to us than drink throwing.
Why spend your time reading & watching what's going on in other people's lives, when it has no benefit to you. The time you take out of your day to watch other people live their lives and hear gossip about other people, you are preventing yourself from enriching your own life. The rich get richer and at your expense. The next time you want to sit down and watch 3hrs worth of TV think and ask yourself, "Is there anything else I could be doing with my time that will put me in a better position in the future?"
lets bring it home:
Example #1
Kim Kardashian
Kim Kardashian has graced the cover of many magazines, she has over 9million followers on Twitter, and in 2011 her estimated net worth was reported at 35million source. Not bad for someone who doesn't have a college degree, neither sings, dance, nor have super amazing athletic skills or training. However she has successfully branded herself and continues to be a smart business woman taking advantage of many business and entertainment opportunities. She has come a long way from being that girl in the sex tape with Ray J,
Co Owner of Dash Clothing boutique
December 2007 issue of Playboy
Face model for Bongo jeans, Shoedazzle endorsement
ABC Dancing With The Stars
40K an episode on Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Kim and Kourtney Take New York
and countless other endeavors that are too many to name.
Thanks to many fans, supporters, and even haters she continues to profit from others infatuation and curiosity about her. Nothing is wrong with supporting someone and indulging in Pop culture phenomenons but if you're trying to live the Sassy Savvy Biz life you may want to take care of your own affairs and prioritize whats important in your life before you give too much energy to "reality Tv" because the more you watch the more they profit and the less you have time to study and work on your brand.
America is drowning in a sea of debt. Aaron Patzer created a program to simplify people's finances -- and help them make smarter spending decisions.
Aaron Patzer was always one to stay on top of his personal finances. He would usually spend time on the weekend updating his account balances with traditional software programs like Quicken and Microsoft Money. There was only one problem: "Quicken wasn't quick," Patzer jokes.
He spent hours manually inputting numbers into spreadsheets and trying to categorize his spending activity. Patzer says he became increasingly frustrated by the amount of effort that these programs required for what he considered to be very basic -- and often unhelpful -- results.
So began his quest to build Mint.com, a tool that would make managing personal finances quick and easy. "I wanted something you could set up and that would get your finances organized in five minutes or less," he says. The version of Mint.com that Patzer eventually launched in September 2007 was exactly that -- user-friendly and required minimal effort.
Have you ever seen the acronyms, symbols, etc and wondered what they meant? Well I'll give you a basic 101 about the stock market, from this overview I'm sure you will be able to further research and educate yourself on the stock market.
NYSE, New York Stock Exchange, is the worlds oldest & largest stock exchange started in 1792. NYSE is located in New York city's historic Wall Street district. NYSE lists long-running, traditional firms such as Coca Cola, IBM and General Electric.
MTV's Jersey Shore rings the opening bell at the NYSE
NASDAQ, an American stock exchange, originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the largest electronic screen-based equity securities trading market in the United States and second-largest by market capitalization in the world. NASDAQ was established in 1971 and is usually the home of high-tech companies involved in electronics or the Internet, such as Microsoft, Intel or Yahoo.
Trading, buying and selling stocks/shares in a company. Stocks/Shares, a percent of ownership in a company, money you give to the company in hopes they will make more money and give you your money back plus some. Best known as Investing in a Company. Stock Market Index, A listing that tracks a group of stocks and their value. The stocks all have something in common. They may trade on the same exchange, belong to the same industry, or be about the same size. Indexes can help assess the results of mutual funds Source
More about Stock Market Index,
An index is a statistical measure of the changes in a portfolio of stocks representing a portion of the overall market.
It would be too difficult to track every single security trading in the country. To get around this, we take a smaller sample of the market that is representative of the whole. Thus, just as pollsters use political surveys to gauge the sentiment of the population, investors use indexes to track the performance of the stock market. Ideally, a change in the price of an index represents an exactly proportional change in the stocks included in the index.
The three most popular indices that measure the value of stocks are:
1) The Dow Jones Industrial Average, most commonly referred to as The Dow, it contains 30 of the largest and most influential companies in the U.S. It is the most recognized index in the world, and the one that is frequently referred to as "the market".
2) The Standard and Poor's 500 Index, most commonly referred to as The S&P, The main drawback of The Dow is that it only contains 30 companies. The S&P 500 improves on The Dow in this respect by including 500 companies.
3) The NASDAQ Composite Index, most commonly referred to as The Nasdaq but not to be confused with the NASDAQ stock market, represents all the stocks that trade on the Nasdaq stock market. The recent surge in popularity of technological stocks has launched the Nasdaq into the spotlight. Consequently, the composite index has become one of the premier indexes in the world.
For the second nail salon visit in the row I have chosen the color Steady As She rose by OPI for my manicure. I often suggest and advocate for women to do their own manicures and pedicures unless they are opting to get acrylic or gel nails but lately I suck at it so I'm getting them done professionally LOL. Appearance is everything and how you present yourself is apart of your marketing/branding package. So try your best to be presentable from head to toe and put effort into your appearance. I really love this color and I think it looks great against all skin tones. Getting a french manicure every single visit is just too boring for my taste so I'm excited Ive found my new color that is stylish yet very professional. As always I'm Sassy Savvy Business lady looking for things that satisfy all sides to me and I have found it in OPI steady as a rose. If the color is too bland for you and you need it to pop a little more, find a custom ring that goes with your professional business attire.
Certainly, most people enjoy going to see a movie. What they don’t realize, when they sit back for that two hour experience, is just how much business know-how and effort went into the creation of the film. The main person in the movie making process with ties to the business world is the producer. This person is usually with the film production from beginning to end. The producer usually has a part in developing the film idea or script and in securing the rights. He will often be the one to hire the director and supervising cast, and to assemble the crew. He will also be in charge of overseeing the budget and coordinating the post production work.
The executive producer will often be someone who owns the rights to the book or story and who secures at least 25% of the overall film budget. Executive producers, such as Eric Gozlan, will often be involved in a number of productions at once and they rarely have creative or technical involvement in each film. This person, or persons, main interest is to protect the studio’s investment in the course of the movie production.
Finally, the associate producer title is usually seen as an honorary one. Often, it’s a way for a producer to say thank you to someone, or to pay back a favor.
Movies typically have more than one producer and executive producer. While enjoying a film, it is important to consider the vast array of business energy and expense that went into the production of that enjoyable movie. source
I often recite the quote, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail" by Ben Franklin. I learned and have noticed a significant difference in production when I implement my lessons on planning. Whether you're developing relationships, starting a new business, or starting a new assignment at work planning has significant advantages. As part of planning, I like to start To Do lists and create very detailed daily/monthly schedules to help me stay on track. Today starts a new week and I promise I will create a new plan to tackle this week and my ever growing list of To Dos and tasks. In addition to CPA studying I am also participating in a social media internship that I absolutely love! I'm still maintaining my full time career and the many assignments that come along with it. Recently at work I signed up to be a pioneer for a spectacular experience and career opportunity in addition to my regular duties, assignments, and responsibilities. So as you can see I have a lot of things going on and I know the best way to approach it is to have a detailed plan that includes a list of To Dos and schedule. Oh, not to mention I'm not just some boring business person, I have a sassy life too. lol I enjoy pop culture and going out combining business with pleasure by networking at events so I have to find time to cater and feed my sassy side. I always mention its important to have a balanced life, too much of anything is a bad thing. I think its impossible to have a balanced life and balance all your tasks,responsibilities,and duties without having a plan.
How To Plan: 1. Write down everything you need to do or place it in your electronic planning device, phone, ipad, laptop etc.
2. Review your tasks and prioritize the items at the same time each day.
3. Look at your list of appointments for the day and determine which are important to do on this day. 4. Schedule blocks of time in your day to work on your to do list. 5. Allow for flexibility in your schedule. In other words, don't over schedule yourself.
Have you ever wondered about the business side of movies? You ever wondered who was behind the hits: Stomp The Yard, This Christmas, Takers, The Gospel, Obsessed? What about the less known DVD/TV movies many of us love: Motives, Trois, Lockdown? Well let me introduce you to Producer Will Packer.
As Co-Founder and Chairman of the Atlanta based production company, Rainforest Films, Packer is responsible for producing and overseeing the company’s studio financed and self-financed films and distribution projects. He co-founded Rainforest Films with his partner Rob Hardy in the summer of 1994 while both were engineering students at Florida A & M University. After graduating magna cum laude from Florida A&M University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering in 1996, Packer decided to forego lucrative job offers in the field of engineering to capitalize on his entrepreneurial instincts and his passion for filmmaking. His tenacious and visionary leadership fueled the production and led to the successful independent distribution of the company’s first theatrically released motion picture Trois. Trois grossed $1.2 million dollars and became the fastest million dollar grossing film distributed by African Americans. Based on the company’s success as an independent distributor, Packer brokered a profitable partnership between Rainforest Films and Sony’s Screen Gems to produce and distribute urban films. This partnership also resulted in Packer overseeing production and distribution budgets of numerous urban-themed releases that included titles: Trois: The Escort, Motives and the independent breakout hit film, The Gospel. Source
Packer with his company Rainforest films is currently producing the film Act like a lady and think like a man based on the bestseller relationship book by Steve Harvey. The film is currently being filmed in Los Angeles and is starring Michael Ealy, Jerry Ferrara, Meagan Good, Regina Hall, Kevin Hart, Taraji P. Henson, Terrance J, Romany Malco, Gary Owen, Gabrielle Union, Lala Vazquez, and Arielle Kebbel.
I hope He Has Inspired You As Much As He Has Inspired Me!
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