Beyond Facebook: Which Social Media Site Is Best for Your Business?

Many of the business owners in my networking groups are not on social media, perhaps surprising, perhaps not. I shared the following research with one of those groups earlier this year.

Mountain Path Yoga – Doing Good From the Start

As I’ve written before, the people I meet are one of the best parts of my job – and one of the most interesting parts can be the often surprising things I learn while working on their projects.

Take Mountain Path Yoga of Thornton, New Hampshire. I few months back I created a new logo, seen here, for owner Azanna Wishart. Shades of green for growth, renewal, the mountains of New Hampshire. A path to a healthier, more whole you. And the rising (setting?) sun. One member of the Infusion Studio team said it looks like a ripe orange half about to drip with wholesome goodness. Images and colors of life.

Design Pick of the Week: Mission Impawsible Dog Training

This playful logo for Mission Impawsible Dog Training in Brentwood is super-cute – and very effective at inviting me, as the consumer, to want to take my own dog through the Mission Impawsible training program.

 

First, the color scheme. Yellow and red are primary colors, clean and crisp. Red has many connotations, and in this case, it makes me think “stop” – as in, heel, sit, stay. The basic commands you want your dog to be able to follow.

Combine the red with white type and yellow stars, and you’ve got a somewhat patriotic feel to the design. The stars are also reminiscent of those gold stars for good work in elementary school. Moreover, they carry a subtle message for the frustrated dog owner driving by: “You may think instilling manners in your pooch is a mission impossible, but let’s shoot for the stars anyway! Come on in, and we’ll give it a try!” Talk about a graphical image that can handle triple duty.

Design Pick of the Week: Surf Seafood Restaurant

No doubt what sort of fare is served up at Surf, whose fun logo caught my eye online recently. In fact, chef/owner Michael Buckley’s establishment has won Best Seafood Restaurant in the state by New Hampshire Magazine numerous times.

A basic design color wise – blue for water and black, with the tan background – the logo for Surf is a good example of how a unique creative element is often best paired with conventional type.

The word Surf is not so much a typeface as it is freehand lettering, and dramatic at that. Very flowy, very dynamic – reflecting the ocean, of course. Restaurant, by contrast, is as simple as can be, and the location (Surf has two, Portsmouth and Nashua) is done in Times New Roman bold for maximum legibility.

The Things You Learn on the Job!

Meeting Tim and Pauline Doucette would give any struggling small-business owner a shot in the arm. The owners of Worry Free Property Management are so good at what they do, and so confident about the future of their business, their energy is infectious. Find your niche, that skill or talent you have better than anyone else in your market – throw yourself into it 110%, and you too can succeed!

Getting to know people like Tim and Pauline is one of the best parts of my job. And one of the most interesting parts is the often surprising things I learn about the world in general while working with such clients.

In this case, the Infusion Studio team was busy the last few weeks putting together trade show materials for Worry Free. We did a table display with vertical banners. We did two brochures, one each for the company’s property-restoration and property-management divisions. And we did a display rack featuring sell sheets on Worry Free’s expertise in handling fire, smoke, water, and mold damage (which will do double duty after the trade show in the informational folders given to new and prospective clients).

It was while assembling these sell sheets that I picked up quite a few “who knew?” tidbits of information:

Design Pick of the Week: The Cottages of Wolfeboro

Logo design is all about telling a story. And while driving through Wolfeboro the other day, I came across a “story” I want to write myself into! Simple and elegant, the logo for The Cottages of Wolfeboro immediately drew me in.

 

The graphic designer cleverly embedded the emblem (the tree) inside a green bounded box. Yet the box does not confine the tree. Its boughs extend beyond – suggesting, literally, that the company has an innovative, think-outside-the-box take on the hospitality industry.

Reading Round-Up: Self-Promotion, The Cloud, and Lego Furniture

No time to read any business articles this week – again? For the last few months, we’ve been trying to share one article a day with our colleagues and clients via Twitter (@InfusionStudio1). Just one article – often a blog post really. Something that will take mere minutes from your day to read. But that will keep you thinking for some time afterwards.

 

Here’s a sample of what we were reading the past few days.

Design Pick of the Week: Thirsty Moose Taphouse

No mistaking what services are offered at the establishment whose logo is my fourth Design Pick of the Week!

Even if you can’t make out the logo’s text on your smartphone screen, the beer pint you see here can’t represent anything other than a good ol’ boys brewpub. Throw in the antlers, and you know for sure that the Thirsty Moose Taphouse isn’t some fancy city bar!

Heading to the Vertical Challenge Finals!

We're packing our bags for a great ski weekend in Vermont! Saturday is the Mountain Dew Vertical Challenge finals at Okemo Mountain Resort. Representatives from 11-year series presenter Chevrolet will be there, and from the other generous sponsors we've been working with this past year: D'Angelo, Frito-Lay, Irving Oil, Muscle Milk, Neuro, and Rockstar Energy Drink.

If you missed seeing the Infusion Studio-designed posters hanging in your local supermarket this winter and are wondering about the Challenge, let me fill you in.

Recommended Reading Round-up: For Those Whose Life Doesn't Move at the Speed of Twitter

For women business owners juggling work and family, the thought of kicking back with a cup of coffee and spending a free hour perusing some of the excellent business sites and blogs out there seems about as likely to happen as an afternoon at the day spa with your girlfriends. Who has the time?! The amount of material is overwhelming. It’s less stressful just to turn your back on it. Let those magazine subscriptions and e-newsletters pile up, and keep plugging away at the projects in front of you on your desk. But we all know you can’t grow your business without learning from others.

For the last few months, we’ve been trying to share one article a day with our colleagues and clients via Twitter (@InfusionStudio1). Just one article – often a blog post really. Something that will take mere minutes from your day to read. But that will keep you thinking for some time afterwards.

Design Pick of the Week: The White Apron

“Really elegant and mouth-watering” was what one team member said when viewing the home page for this week’s Design Pick. “Yum!” were the words of another. The logo for Dover-based catering company The White Apron is set against a full-screen close-up photo of asparagus on the website – as effective a design treatment as crisp white linen napkins against a rich green damask cloth. I hope you’ll click through to the company’s site to get the full effect when you finish reading my comments about the logo itself....

Design Pick of the Week: Windblown Cross Country Skiing and Snowshoeing

For my third Design Pick of the Week, I’ve selected the logo for Windblown Cross Country Skiing and Snowshoeing in New Ipswich. Owner Al Jenks purchased the land in 1963 for $15,000 borrowed from his grandfather. He was just 16 at the time, and pursuing his dream would have to wait for college and time in the Army Corps of Engineers. He opened for business in 1972.

Design Pick of the Week: LaBelle Winery

I started the Design Pick of the Week last Monday – and everyone on the Infusion Studio team has been having a great time sending suggestions my way. Some are website banners, some are corporate logos, some are store signs seen while out running errands. But they all have one thing in common: They are all New Hampshire businesses.

And my pick for week two is the logo for what is truly an up-and-coming New Hampshire company, LaBelle Winery in Amherst.

Design Pick of the Week: Seacoast Social Media

We're starting a new feature on my blog... the Design Pick of the Week! I find there's nothing like seeing someone else's clever business logo or billboard or ad or some other graphic design element to infuse my own creativity. I hope that by sharing my favorite discoveries, I can inspire other New Hampshire business owners to infuse their own enterprises with a unique look and feel.

So, first up... drum roll please... is the website banner for Seacoast Social Media! I don't recall how I stumbled on the site for this Portsmouth, N.H.-based social-media training company. But, I immediately bookmarked it just because of this fun, clean, informative graphic.

How Fast Can you Bounce Back? Why Even a One-Woman Operation Needs a Disaster Recovery Plan

Blizzards. Tornados. Hurricanes. Floods. Riots and acts of teror. The unexpected can leave small-business owners floundering – often for much longer than necessary. In fact, many businesses forced to short their doors temporarily during such times of crisis never reopen. From dealing with simple hurdles (cell phone dead and power out) to major problems (“I’ve been meaning to start regular computer back-ups...”), getting prepared can mean the difference between long-term success and failure. And, being able to say you have such a plan goes a long way to showing clients and potential investors of your long-term stability.

Say No to Networking?

I recently read a Forbes article by a successful businesswoman who proposed that “saying no should be your top resolution in 2013.” A few years ago, Stephanie Chandler was feeling so overwhelmed, she decided to trim her schedule, drastically. The first thing to go: “all those darn networking meetings.” For her, it worked. But it’s not the answer for everyone, especially not for me at this point in my company’s growth.

In my daily tweets (@InfusionStudio1), I share a specific article I find inspiring or thought-provoking in some way. On Monday I picked a FOXBusiness column by Ivan Misner on what he calls the “networking disconnect.” (Simply put, if everyone at a networking event is there to sell themselves, who are the buyers in the room?)

Think Outside the Starbucks

Sometime last year I heard about a new “fad” with entrepreneurs, specifically in the biotech industry – incubators and accelerators. At the time, I remember thinking, “Wow, what a neat investment idea.” Too bad I didn’t have the capital myself to invest in this little windfall. Turns out more than just scientists are looking for space to test out their theories. Risk-takers from all walks of life who start developing their business ideas in their apartments or at the local Starbucks need room to breathe. Or at least more wall space.