As I type this article, attempting to balance my laptop on my knees while waiting for my next client, my mind wanders to one of those times in my life when I was happiest. I remember feeling that I had everything I needed and valued in my life. Could this be that often-elusive element, ‘balance’ that I recall?
A holistic approach to financial management is the best way to wealth creation and it is that approach that has made ABS Morgans so successful. Jonathan Jackson speaks with senior investment advisor Michael Mansfield about football, wealth strategy, asset allocation and surviving the GFC.
It was a family holiday that peaked Michael Mansfield’s interest in finance and broking.
“My father took the whole family to the US for four weeks. It was a significant moment for me, going to America and Disneyland, and I remember talking to dad about it and him saying the holiday was based on some investments he made in gold and the share market. So, that interest in finance was always there.”
You have to get people who have a similar desire to produce what you want to produce.
Hospitality is a tough industry: long hours, high level stress and difficult customers. You have to love the industry to be involved, especially if you are running the back of house, which presents its own challenges. These challenges include equipment maintenance and cleaning. Keeping equipment in top working order can be expensive and if something breaks down, there may be a long wait for a technician.
Yoga as a practice serves to unite the mind, body and spirit leaving you feeling fitter, more energetic, balanced and peaceful.
Are you stressed out?
Stress is the second most common cause of workplace compensation claims in Australia, after manual handling*. Do you crave more harmony in your daily life? Despite what you may think, your body knows if you are stressed, even though you may not realise it.
Not too long ago, there was a lot of jargon revolving around the social media marketing and most believed that it takes a “social media expert” to do the job. Today, social media is not a new fad, but an integral part of marketing which can best be termed as evolutionary. It is your everyday marketing, every marketer’s lips—and it doesn’t have to be in the books or taught in order to be harnessed.
Entrepreneur, innovator and marketing enthusiast Mellissah Smith has one goal: to improve small businesses and change lives.
In its eight years of operation, Marketing Eye has developed from a niche service provider into one of Australia’s leading marketing representatives. In that time founder and former CEO Mellissah Smith has developed along with the company; she still possesses the same enthusiasm, but that enthusiasm has been tempered with experience and maturity. That is why the time is right to make an impact on foreign soil.
Case Study: BrightLine Solutions Atlanta
Marketing Eye Atlanta was recently engaged by BrightLine Solutions in Atlanta to re-develop their rather new website incorporating more services, social media and a different look and feel.
The company is based in both Atlanta and New York and was founded by serial entrepreneur Christy Brown. Specialising in Information Technology, Embedded Software Engineering, Accounting and Finance, Christy has paved a niche in her market and delivered a service that is both professional and unsurpassed by any of her competitors.
The problem is that as a entrepreneurs who works incredibly long hours, she has spent little time telling those who don’t already do business with BrightLine Solutions about how fantastic and bespoke of a company they really are.
BrightLine Solutions were looking for greater brand awareness out in the broader market and a new drive to attract new business from medium to large corporates who were not currently their clients.
In addition, they were looking to attract candidates to their website and utilise their website as a medium for candidates to find information on jobs and how best to apply for them.
The Problem
The website that they had did not clearly communicate the BrightLine Solutions brand. In fact, it did little to communicate anything at all. After hiring a company to build their website, it became evident that the new website was not in fact ‘telling the whole story’.
In short, Christy Brown and her team wanted more.
Their brand identity (Logo) was somewhat dated and normally Marketing Eye would suggest that they develop a new logo and brand that was more in tune to where they were positioned in the market.
But in this case, the logo identity at this point was not to be changed. So, working with the current logo and creating a brand around the company’s positioning in the market, its culture, its unique selling proposition and the ‘brand personality’ was paramount.
Sourcing new imagery that communicated the brands personality was required. New website architecture that allowed for an expanded service offering and an integration of social media was also required.
The Solution
Marketing Eye Atlanta wanted a ‘fresh’ and ‘impactual’ online presence for BrightLine Solutions. After all, this company was unique. Although the industry sectors in which the company specialised were traditionally conservative, the company offered a great understanding of its clients’ requirements and an in-depth understanding of what the right candidates should look like. Being able to communicate with both parties on this website was key to successfully launching a new online presence.
Marketing Eye Atlanta decided to play down the primary brand colour of purple given that still a majority of candidates and clients were male and this colours psychological boundaries may limit their ability to accept this brand in its full enormity.
Being more flexible in service offerings and creating call to actions and real customer and candidate engagement was a priority for Brightline Solutions.
Social media became a focal point of the website and was given a ‘hero’ sub positioning on every available page. It is important that social media is a marketing tool of connecting with clients and candidates on a more frequent basis giving them access to new jobs, new developments and opportunities in real time.
The Outcome
“Wow. Awesome.”
Christy Brown and her team were excited when they saw their new website design. It had captured their company perfectly and further enhanced their brand online.
With the team of designers and web developers at Marketing Eye, working towards a more engaged online model for BrightLine Solutions, this was definitely the right platform to make it happen.
April Baker, wife and mother of two sons, is currently planning her latest exhibition. “It’s a display of charcoal imagery that stirs emotions lying dormant within”.
April describes her images as sentimental, happy and playful, with an inner source of energy that tugs at the viewer’s heartstrings. This is an apt description of her previous sell out exhibition “Loved Bears” which featured wonderfully emotive charcoal drawings of pre-loved teddies whose patched fur and missing button eyes tell a tale of years of love and devotion from countless children.
I am not sure about you, but Jodie Foster is one of my all time favourite actresses. For me, she is an actress with integrity, talent and professionalism. Never has she sold her soul for a role and she is always the first to stand up for her friends. First it was Mel Gibson, then it was Robert Downey Jnr and now it is Kristen Stewart.