Monday, June 23, 2014

Build an App that Builds Your Brand

by Vince Rogers

In general, an "App" (short for Application Software) according to Wikipedia "is all the computer software that causes a computer to perform useful tasks beyond the running of the computer itself." Apps have been around nearly as long as computers. However, the word is now almost exclusively used to refer to mobile application software. Mobile Apps are used by smartphone, tablet computer and other mobile device users to access quick solutions.

If you're a technology "wiz", creating the next hot app might make you rich. However, even if your app doesn't get purchased by another company for millions of dollars, you can still profit from the app "Gold Rush". You can create a simple app that showcases some aspect of your brand. Clients, prospects or even potential employers can access and use your app on a regular basis. If used strategically, apps can be a powerful tool for building your brand. A good app can provide users with a consistent reminder of what is unique about you or your organization.

The beauty of apps is that you don't have to be a Silicon Valley code writing champion to create one. According to Atlanta technology expert Jeff Bond of Bond Tech Consultantswww.bondtechconsultants.com “apps will be as important today as the web browser was 20 years ago”. Some easy to uses sites that can help you to build high quality apps are:Appery.io; Conduit or Appsme. If you feel that the task of creating the app yourself is too daunting, you can always hire an expert like Mr. Bond to do the job for you. In either case, he suggests that what is most important is that you “have a clear understanding of what purpose the app will serve.” Bond believes that is the basis for creating a powerful app that promotes your brand.
Some time ago, I used a simple platform named "Mobile Mags"http://mobilemags.360fashion.net to create a downloadable version of my Big Fundamentals of Success Planning http://mobilemags.360fashion.net/em/magp.jsp?mag=The_Big_Fundamentals_Mobile It has proven to be a simple, easily accessible, yet definitive piece of branding. It enables clients to have access to information that they can use regularly, and provides a consistent reminder of who provided them with that information. I am sure that you can come up with your own solutions based application that can do the same thing just as well or better.
As I have stated elsewhere, you and you alone are responsible for controlling the quality of your brand. The image that you present and the information you transfer to the public are signs of your dedication to quality and the soundness of your ideas. Creating a handy Mobile App that provides users with creative solutions or valuable information can accomplish all of these things. It is a great way to elevate your image, show people that your brand is of high quality and demonstrates that your ideas are sound. So let’s get started and here’s wishing you Happy App’ing!
Follow Vince Rogers posts on LinkedIn.com to get more valuable information and insights @ www.linkedin.com/today/author/1669339-Vince-Rogers

Thursday, June 5, 2014

If I Were 22 - These Are 10 Things That I Wish I Knew

When I was 22, I was an Event Promoter. I produced parties and small concerts. This was something that I had been doing since shortly after I graduated from high school. I believed that this was the first step in my journey towards becoming an Entertainment Industry “Mogul”.
In order to have the flexibility that I needed to work on my business by day, I also became a Bartender. Ultimately, I would work at a nightclub named “Charles Disco”, which was famously depicted in the Outkast song“Spottieottiedopaliscious”. I would spend my days organizing my next event. I spent an equal amount of my time trying to find a way to eventually promote my first big concert. This seemed to be a perfect plan.
During my 22nd year on this planet I experienced some significant successes. I also experienced a major failure. I promoted my most successful event early in that year. Later in the year, I promoted my first big concert. I was now a “big-time” Concert Promoter.
The responsibility of promoting this event came complete with booking major New York City Rappers, purchasing professionally produced Radio Commercials and acquiring high-profile “Corporate” sponsors - the “Whole Nine”. Attendance-wise it was a success. Yet due to some outrageous financial chicanery on behalf of the box office personnel and my business “partners”, it was a financial disaster.
Following this turn of outrageous fortune, I decided that it was finally time to get a real job. I was forced to transform into a quitter from a go-getter – at least in my mind. I saw getting a job as absolute failure. My Mom was sure proud of me though. I now had an ample, steady income and was working for a prestigious company – with benefits. As time went by, the sun rose to reveal other possibilities and the window of opportunity for pursuing the old dream of music industry “Moguldom” eventually closed.
Did I make the right decision to “give up” and join the “Rat Race”. Well to be perfectly honest with you, too much time has passed and there were way too many other variables involved to answer that question simply. However, there are many things that I didn’t know then that I know now that might have given me a better chance of achieving success and holding on tight to my dream. If I were 22, these are 10 things that I wish I knew. I now share them with you.
#IfIWere22
1) Maintain your emotional balance as you travel the distance between the voyage and the victory. There will be up and downs. Don’t over-celebrate your victories. Don’t overly grieve your losses.
2) Greatness is the ability to pursue your personal vision over a significant period of time. You will have to consistently bring creativity and innovation to your field of endeavor. Also, you must maintain your integrity without ever sacrificing your commitment to excellence.
3) Success doesn't always depend on coming up with the best idea. Sometimes it’s just a matter of putting your greatest effort into the idea that you come up with. Don’t waste too much time searching for the best idea of all time. Yet, you shouldn’t waste too much time on a bad idea either. Yeah, it’s tricky.
4) Challenges are Opportunities.....Disguised as Limitations. What may seem like an insurmountable problem may just be an opportunity to learn a valuable lesson, not a reason to quit.
5) Reciprocity is the recipe for prosperity. If you help other people, they will help you to achieve more success than you could by yourself.
6) Your greatest source of future wealth will be determined by the purchasing decisions that you make today. Credit card payments, student loans, car payments and debt in general can rule your life and steal your ability to pursue your dreams.
7) The image that you present and the information you transfer to the public are signs of your dedication to quality and the soundness of your ideas. If you don’t look the part or sound like you know what you are talking about, sometimes it won’t matter how much passion or even ability you possess inside.
8) You must assemble a winning team. You alone will never possess all of the skills and abilities required for perfection. Nor will you ever be able to earn every certification or degree needed to answer all questions. You must find out how to attract, learn from and utilize the right people.
9) Compromise is the mature acceptance of the fact that no single person needs to succeed at the expense of another to win. It’s not a “Dog eat dog world”. Successful people eventually realize that it is a people helping people world. Not a single ruthless Gangster ever makes it to the end of the movie.
10) It matters not who is in power, where you went to school, or whatever obstacles appear to be in your way....when you have a plan, everything becomes your resource.
#IfIWere22
The path to success is not easy. I am still on it. It is a long winding highway. Yet with a plan and some rules of the road to follow, hopefully you won’t spend your entire life looking for the next exit.
#IfIWere22
Follow Vince Rogers posts on LinkedIn.com to get more valuable information and insights @ www.linkedin.com/today/author/1669339-Vince-Rogers