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Badass Boss Babe Inspo

Badass Boss Babe Inspo· Freebie

18 Jan

Who could use some badass boss babe inspo today?  I love this quote from Einstein: “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”

I think there’s a ton of truth in that.  Making mistakes is sort of life, ya know?  I think that sometimes, mistakes are embarrassing, but most of the time, a mistake is simply a way of learning what *not* to do next time.

I also think that this is a good way of saying that you should be prepared and ready for a mistake, especially if you’re trying something new.  The thing is, there’s nothing wrong with making a mistake or not being perfect.  If we were perfect, we would never progress and push ourselves further.

So, please feel free to snag this downloadable graphic!  It’s sized perfectly to share on your social media… in fact, I’d love for you to share this on your social media.  Encourage your fellow badass boss babes, why don’t ya?  Simply click the graphic to download, or you can click here.

 

Want font info?

The lovely sans font is called Athens, from Jen Wagner Co.  This font has become one of my regulars!  I love a tall, skinny sans. And, I think it’s amazeballs that it comes in multiple weights.

The cursive font is called Lemons Mangos Sunshine by the super sweet Emily Spadoni.  I’m a big fan of Emily’s work, and this particular font is one of my absolute favorites she’s ever done.  The swashes are so gorgeous, and the entire font is super versatile.

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Thieves – Handling Intellectual Property Theft

Basic Biz· How To Even

16 Jan

Oh yes, I said THIEVES. Not that amazing smelling essential oil from Young Living (my fav oil ever!), but legit THIEVES. Intellectual property theft is what I’m talking about.

If you’re a person that has put their all into their business, only to find that someone has stolen your material or intellectual property, you can understand the frustration that we’ve felt before.

We’ve become those victims. It’s happened a few times, and it’s always perplexing when it does happen. Is it really so hard to figure out how to say something on your own? We’ve had a gal, under the guise of being a future client, steal our questionnaire and probably use it. We’ve had people swipe our specific, injected-with-our-personalities wording from our listing details. People have copy/pasted generic information from our listings. It’s insane that people are really that lazy and dishonest.  We’ve also had folks inquire and solicit for more information about our services, claiming that they were in the market…except they worked in the same market.  We’ve even had a few of our premade logos blatantly copied.  (I mean, they were pretty awesome.)

We’ve handled it directly. We’ve submitted reports for copyright/intellectual property infringement, both with federal organizations and with Etsy, since that’s where the crime happened. Yes, crime. Because it is. (What? You didn’t know?) We’ve learned a few things along the way.

 

Reach Out.

Reach out to these people, if you want to take action against them. One thing that I learned in the military is that you should always handle things at the lowest level possible, because it’s often easiest this way. It’s always great to have a record, too, where you can submit proof of requesting the information/item to be removed. If someone knows that they’ve been busted, they likely won’t want any trouble and will remove the offending pieces from their website or shop. If they oblige, it’s super simple and fast. (But keep an eye out; our experiences have been such that we’ve had repeat offenders.)

You might encounter some full-of-crap excuses.  “I’m so sorry, I had no idea, I hired a guy to write my content for me, and I guess he stole it.” or “It’s not wrong to use YOUR business name in my logo display, give me proof.” (Yes, someone took Autumn Lane Paperie, OUR business name, and used it as a display name in their own shop’s logos.)

 

Submit a report.

If you run an Etsy shop, their IP section has a standard operating procedure for something like this. It requires you to submit a report, but they do request that you reach out to the person(s) first to handle it without the “grown ups” getting involved. Having screenshots of the infringement will be key to having action taken, and Etsy doesn’t take infringement lightly.

 

…but only if you’re certain.

You should also understand that Etsy, and many other entities, doesn’t take false reports lightly, nor do they take kindly to reports that come from shop owners that are under-prepared to make a claim…for example, no legal paperwork showing trademark rights, screenshots of plagiarism, and so on. A false report or a report in which you simply feel that you have been wronged but don’t have the legal stuff to back it up could result in your own shop being shut down.

 

Hire a Professional.

Hire a professional if you’re unsure. A lawyer can send a cease and desist letter to the offending person, and, lawsuits can be filed over this stuff. You should definitely use this as a last resort, though — you might wind up spending more than it’s worth just to prove a point.

 

Nothing.

Sometimes, doing nothing might be the best option. Follow me on this one.  We’ve had a few incidents where people took generic wording directly from our product information. I hear you saying, “If it’s generic, how do you even know?” It’s pretty simple. We noticed patterns.  Following on social media, sudden likes and favorites, and oh look, you’re a competitor? When you’re knee deep in web design, writing, and design work, you tend to notice stuff like this.  You also likely have ALL of the resources necessary to track down information.

 

Well, not NOTHING.  Keep an eye out.

When we get some fishy looking followers and favorites, and then notice you’re a competitor that is fairly new to the scene, and we see the exact generic wording contained in our listings showing up in yours…it’s pretty damn obvious. Sure is a big coincidence that even our generic information and lengthy lists are word-for-word.  If it’s generic, we often choose not to do anything drastic except for thanking for the favorites (we’ve got our eyes on you), and watching (yep, still have our eyes on you).  You can only be so creative when you’re listing what your branding package includes.  At the same time, no one likes it when you directly copy/paste — stop being lazy.

 


The whole thing sucks, let’s be honest. It sucks to realize you’ve been taken advantage of and that you’ve been stolen from after you’ve put countless hours into what you have. On the other hand, it’s a slight compliment (in the weirdest way) that someone sees you as successful enough to want to mirror your business down to your wording for generic branding items.

We recommend a legal statement on your website and shop to ensure protection.  Hire a professional, if you have any questions or concerns about whether or not your IP rights were violated.  You might also want to look into protection through an entity like DMCA. We’d also recommend trying to protect yourself by ensuring YOUR ducks are in a row and that YOU aren’t inadvertently being the problem.  Ensure that you keep licensing, if applicable, on hand so that you can offer proof if there is a question.  Additionally, make sure that if you’re doing business with other entities that maintain crystal clear policies.

Let me close this by saying that in our experiences, every single person that we’ve caught stealing from us has actually gone on to shut their shops down shortly thereafter. It won’t be true every single time, but you can’t get that far on stolen stuff or imitating abilities. Karma’s a bitch, after all.

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Badass Boss Babe Inspo

Badass Boss Babe Inspo· Freebie

13 Jan

Here’s a little badass boss babe inspo for you today: be fearless in pursuit of what sets your soul on fire.  Isn’t this amazing?  I think it’s the perfect reminder for a business owner, plugging away at what they do.  We’re all in business for a reason, right?  We started businesses because it made us happy.  The day-to-day aspects of business can really zap you of your passion if you let it.

Sometimes, I think that we even get “stuck” in what is working and keeping things afloat that we forget to keep charging forward for those things that set your soul on fire.  New ideas, new concepts, new additions are all things that you should be fearless about.  Don’t get too comfortable or complacent — be fearless, and constantly seek out more.  I think that fear — especially fear of failure — keeps us from realizing our fullest potential and greatest joys.

Feel free to click on that image over there, download it, and share it to your social media to encourage other business owners & dream chasers — hashtag it with #autumnlanepaperie and feel free to tag me, too!  You can also click here to download the image!

 

Want font info?

The ever talented Sam Parrett designed Crystal Sky, and you can find Bravery here, by Pollux of Geminorum.

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Three Tips on How to Build Trust in Your Brand

Badass Branding· Basic Biz· blog

11 Jan

A trustworthy brand is so important if you expect to make it as a business.  The trust that you can build will lead to that initial “leap of faith” with a purchase, and continued trust-building will likely lead to additional purchases, as well as referrals.  Basically, building trust in your brand is crucial to establishing lasting relationships with your clients.  Let me give you three tips on how to build trust in your brand.

The Golden Rule

Treat others the way you want to be treated.  The Golden Rule sounds like a given, but so often, people need to be reminded of this.  Businesses make us busy. Sometimes they make us short-tempered or terse with our prospective clients that simply want to have their questions answered.  After a long day of managing your business, remember how you would feel if you received an e-mail like the one you’re about to send.  Kindness, compassion, and gratitude go a long way in establishing a personal and personable relationship with the people you want to make your clients.

Show Off Your Brand

In short, branding equals credibility.  The general population is judgmental, and if you don’t have a nice-looking logo, website, or branded materials to look at, there’s a good chance they’ll pass you by.  I sat in on a seminar once in which the gal speaking mentioned that a logo must be seen some 6-8 times over the course of 2-3 weeks.  Why is that? It’s because your brand needs to stay etched into someone’s mind in order to build trust and familiarity.  That could come in the form of your logo on a website, on a postcard, on a business card, or perhaps someone talking about your company in conversation.  Keep your brand at the forefront of people’s minds.  The professionalism you could display with your brand will also go a long way to build trust, as well.  You may be the most credible, trustworthy person ever, but if your brand looks like you made it in Paint…well, you know.

Be Accessible & Prompt

Make yourself accessible to your prospective and returning clients.  Answer your e-mails promptly.  If you have a business line, publish your phone number and answer it.  Are you in a physical location?  Make sure you display your address, and ensure that the maps display your correct location.  If it’s difficult to track you down, people won’t put in the effort.  Additionally, if you don’t display various methods to establish contact with you, people may view your inaccessibility with distrust.


Of course, you’re not limited to three ways to build trust.  There are many ways that you can build trust.  First, think about some of your favorite brands, or the companies you purchase from regularly.  Why do you give them your business?  Consider what factors make you trust their brand.  Then, consider how can you take those factors, and use them in your business.  Ultimately, trust will lead to buy-in.  If you have people on board with your business and products, you’ll be unstoppable.

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So, You Want to Blog? Part 2: A Plan for a Badass Blog

Badass Blog· blog

9 Jan

So, you want to blog?  Now that you have an idea, you need a plan.  It has to be a badass plan for your badass blog.  Duh!

The biggest part of your plan will be content.  Content is this.  Look around.  It’s the stuff you write, the subjects you talk about, and the info you’re putting out there.  Unless you’re heading down the lifestyle blog path where you detail your day to day, you’ll likely need to plan out your content.  That’s not the same as planning your blog posts, just so you know.

When I say “planning blog content” I mean gathering up topics & information to write about.  If you’re planning an informational type blog, you might need to plan for research, too.  The planning your posts part is more like scheduling your posts once you have the content written.

Other parts of your plan should include your brand and your future website.

 

Brain Dump

The first part of your plan should be a brain dump.  This’ll probably occur over a time span, and not one single sit-down session.  When I say “brain dump,” I mean that you should jot down all of your ideas for your blog, no matter what it’s about.  I would suggest dividing your dump into a few different sections: content ideas, brand + website ideas, and other possibilities.

I write down ideas that I have ALL the time.  Most of my ideas go into my Notes app.  Since I use Apple products, I can add them to my phone on the go, my desktop machine as I’m working, my laptop as I’m blogging, or on my iPad if I’m using it.  They all sync up, so I have the same notes no matter where I go.

I also use my Limelife Planner.  Sometimes, as I’m working through my day’s to-do list, I’ll have a stroke of genius that I need to scrawl out, or put onto my schedule.  Writing down your ideas will be key, even after you’ve done your brain dump.  Don’t just write down one or two words about your idea. Give a little detail and depth so that you don’t forget where you were headed with it.

 

Refine

After you’ve let your various ideas simmer, it’s time to refine things.  What fits, and what doesn’t?  What should you let go of?  Are these ideas you’re letting go of still great ideas you can incorporate later?

 

Vision + Mission Statement

Most businesses have a vision and a mission statement.  Well, at least, they should have those things!  In the simplest terms possible, a vision is the goal, and the mission statement is the plan to execute.  Your blog should have a vision and a mission statement, too!

It could look something like this:

The goal of Autumn Lane Paperie’s blog is to empower and connect with other like-minded business owners (vision) by providing easy to digest information and experiences in a down-to-earth, relatable manner (mission).

 

What I’ve Done So Far

My blog content planning was pretty willy-nilly and all over the place at first.  I’ve been rolling around the idea of blogging for years.  I actually started a few times, but it sort of dropped off because life happened, or because I wasn’t entirely certain that I wanted to open up all areas of my personal life.  (The blogs were definitely more of a lifestyle/family type of blog, and I think my kids should have privacy, so I sort of just stopped blogging and telling stories.)  I thought that a business-related personal-ish blog was a great solution, but it turns out, we really want to provide information to people and help them with their business ventures.  So, Autumn Lane’s blog is really the best avenue for that!

Once I started to realize the type of blog I would enjoy writing, I realized that a lot of it was business-heavy.  We (my husband and I) have a great deal of experience in the business world with both failed and successful businesses, a ton of combined experiences to share, and we’re also regular people working to feed a family and have fun.

I want to share those experiences as a mom + wife, a family person, a student, and business woman.  I want to share experiences and recommendations with people, and also have a way to look back on some memories made, connect with others over them, and so on.

In addition to the business related posts that I knew I would have, I realized I would also have a lot of great insight on branding.  It is what I do everyday, after all!  Some of the other things I want to write about include things that make my life easier (who doesn’t like that type of info?), organization, and food + travel.

As I realized the type of things I wanted to write about, I realized my blog was beginning to take shape as a business + lifestyle blog.  I have a ton to say about running a business, but I say it from a busy mom’s perspective.  Autumn Lane was born because I wanted to be there for & provide for my family.

I also really love the idea of being able to show that there are real people behind what we do at Autumn Lane Paperie.  Sometimes, business takes on a much-too-professional and sterile feel, and that’s just not me!  While we do provide professional level services and products, we’re pretty casual people over here.  I connect better with my clients when I’m communicating like *myself* and not someone trying to *sound* professional.  Creating better connections leads to better brands, plain & simple!


 

In the next So, You Want to Blog? series, we’ll be taking a look at making the actual *badass blog* happen!  We’ll touch on the website and branding aspect of your future blog!

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Welcome to Autumn Lane — I’m Beck, the bosslady in charge.  I’m thrilled that you’re here! We offer the most awesome selection of beautiful, feminine premade logos, high quality custom brands, and websites designed to be gorgeously functional.

We’re a family business, and I’m so proud to have such an awesome team – we’re here to support you, and we’d love it if you’d stick around!

To find out how we can help your business, Contact Us!

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