Marketing for Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners

I was at a party recently and bumped into Daniel Garcia, a long-time friend of mine. He was demonstrating something quite impressive to a group of fans and they asked him “How do get to be that good”. In his usual modest way he said, “You just do it. You just do it over and over”.

And it’s true. In the ten plus years that I’ve known Daniel I have never seen him without a deck of cards in his hand or in his back pocket. Daniel is amazingly disciplined in his approach to magic. Of course he loves what he does and that probably makes it easier. But I knew Daniel when his hands got burned.

If you ever get the chance to talk to Daniel, ask him about this. You can still see the scars on his hands. The scabs were so thick he couldn’t bend his fingers and when the skin finally grew back it was so tight and stretched over his fingers that his doctors told him he would not be able to manipulate cards again.

But Daniel practiced anyway. He practiced because he loves magic. But he practiced past that. He practiced when it was boring and he practiced even when it was painful. He practiced when every coin palm stretched the skin on his fingers to the point of pain. He practiced when holding a deck of cards caused him to wince. He practiced when he wanted to, and he practiced when he DIDN’T want to. He practiced with discipline.

You just do it. You just do it over and over.

I work out because I’ve discovered this is what disciplined people do. I’ve also discovered that disciplined people have other character traits that rise from their discipline. They tend to be wealthier, healthier, and have more manageable lives.

This is not just a guess on my part. Thomas Stanly (author of “The Millionaire Next Door“) found a similar correlation that he describes in another of his books, “The Millionaire Mind“. Stanley writes “The majority of millionaires exercise regularly…those with net worths of $10 million or more had the highest incidence of regular exercise.” He goes on to speculate why this might be true but admits that whatever the reason for this correlation, he had met “very few self-made millionaires who are lethargic or even noticeably overweight”.

So there is a correlation between fitness and wealth, but I don’t think that fitness causes wealth or that being wealthy makes you more likely to work out. Instead, I believe that both of these traits are the result of discipline. Disciplined people love cheesecake just as much as everyone else, but they control their behavior in the face of temptation. Disciplined people love the comfort of a warm bed just as much as everyone else, but they choose to leave the comfort and travel to the gym or the track. Disciplined people have things they want to buy and own just like everyone else, but they limit their spending to less than they earn and they invest a pre-determined amount. Disciplined people can be sidetracked and unfocused just like anyone else, but they work to stay on-task while they practice, train, study, and learn.

These disciplined actions pay dividends over the long term. They pay dividends of fitness and health. They pay dividends of financial security. They pay dividends of expertise and skill and talent.

These disciplined actions permeate other areas of a person’s life. As you become more disciplined in one area, it is much easier, and sometimes almost automatic, that you become more disciplined in other areas of your life. When Daniel Garcia and I were recently able to break away from the crowds that seem to gather and follow him, we were able to talk in private for a few minutes. We spoke about how disciplined he has to be in other areas of his life as well.

“Man, I love talking about magic. I could sit here at this party all night long talking magic with these guys. But I have a phone call with a guy in England that’s scheduled for 8:30 tomorrow morning and I have to be awake and ready to go”. And his life is filled with these scheduled calls, lectures, talks and appearances with greater and greater frequency.

He confided in me that “I seriously sometimes need to set a timer when I get on MySpace or Facebook because I just love talking to all my peeps. Those sites let me connect with a lot of people really quickly, but I can get sucked into that real fast, too.” The more disciplined you are, the more talent you develop, the more fans you generate, the more in-demand you become, and the more disciplined you need to be. Your success is only limited by your capacity to be disciplined.

The good news is that discipline is not something you are born with. By nature we all tend to seek the path of least resistance. This is normal and usually a good thing. But we are also forward-looking beings and by imagining the future we are able to shape it as we want. Discipline is simply a matter of looking forward and thinking about tomorrow and next week and next year.

When I worked as a teacher I systematically saved 20% of my income, which was very difficult to do on a teacher’s salary. Today, the money that I saved during my 8 years as a teacher is less than 10% of my net worth but the discipline that I developed in the process of saving that money is what enabled me to accumulate the other 90% of what I own. Said another way, the discipline to save and invest was far more valuable than the money earned through the saving and investing.

In fact, I’ve come to understand that the discipline just might be the most important character trait I strive to develop since it allows for all the others to shine. A loyal spouse is a disciplined person. A prolific writer is a disciplined writer. A healthy person is a disciplined eater and mover.

And a disciplined person is not one who suffers or deprives themselves. Just the opposite is true. A disciplined person knows that the path to wealth is not an overnight journey, but a long, steady progression of steps. The path to excellence is not a week of late night jam sessions, but rather a steady progression of regular practice. The path to fitness is not losing 30 pounds in two weeks, but rather a healthy, steady progression. Slow and steady is how we gain weight and it is how we lose it. Debt creeps up on us and it takes time to beat it back down. Lethargy steals a night from us as we stare at the television, but the next day we can decide to rehearse instead.

Discipline is like a muscle or a skill. It must be practiced and exercised in order for it to develop and get stronger. The more you work toward your goals, the easier they all become. Work, not just for the goal itself, not just for the immediate benefit that will come from your success, but for who you will become in the process of attaining that goal.

You will become a person of discipline and it will reflect in all areas of your life.

Julian Getting Things Done, productivity

While everyone else is telling you that now is the time to get ready to succeed in the new year I’m going to offer my bit of contrarian advice:

This new year, plan on failing more.

Many years ago, when I wanted to become a writer, I signed up for a correspondence course from an ad I saw in the back of Writer’s Digest Magazine. One of the first lessons covered was getting over the fear of rejection. “For every magazine article you publish, you should expect to receive one hundred rejections.”

To some this might seem discouraging, but in fact the opposite is true. When you realize that failure is an intergral part of success then it is no longer something to be feared. I began to see rejection letters as a measure of forward progress. If I got one and quit then I would NEVER reach my goal. I needed to stumble and fail at least ninety-nine more times before I had any right to expect a byline.

And so I kept fearlessly submitting articles and proudly collecting rejection letters like feathers in my cap. Where some would see failure, I saw markers of forward progress. Fast forward twelve years and  I have 20 books and mor ethan 100 published magazine articles. I no longer collect (nor save) rejection letters, but neither do they get me the least bit dejected.

“Failures are milestones, not tombstones.”  –Julian Franklin

I have many great plans in the works right now, some of which are sure to face hurdles and set backs, some already have. I welcome these challenges as a part of the game.

I don’t know what great ambitions you have for this year, but as you set goals, mentally prepare for the fact that you might not make them all on the first try. If, by some strange fluke you do make them all easily then you didn’t set high enough goals to begin with. Push yourself this year and then forgive yourself when success is not simple and easy.

If the stock market doesn’t cooperate with your investment goals, don’t give up. Have you been getting discouraged showing your business plan to prospective downline memebers because no one seems interested? Good! That’s a sign of forward progress. It’s much better than sitting at home not showing the plan because of a fear of rejection. Been going to the gym and not seeing the results you want? Keep going! Has the economy affected your business? Are sales down? Are you feeling forced to try new things in order keep up? Fantastic!

This year, instead of paring down your resolutions to one or two really important ones, I suggest you pile your plate high with all manner of goals, dreams, resolutions and promises. Dream as big as you can, gather lots of intermediate goals and then plow into them head first. If you want to succeed more in 2010 than you did in 2009 then you are going to have to accept more failure. The only way to fail more is to try more.

Thomas J. Watson, Sr., the president of IBM from 1914 - 1956 and the man who propelled the company to the incredible success that it became and still is was quoted as saying “If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate.”

“If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate.”  –Thomas J. Watson, Sr.

Don’t get too comfortable with failure, but for goodness sakes don’t avoid it! The sign of a great achiever is a long list of past failures. Get out there and start failing!

Julian Embracing Fear, Failure, Goal Setting, Success

Unemployment has been kept under ten percent nationwide and everyone is celebrating about that…except those in the ten percent (thanks @bradmontgomery)

But for a very long time in this country there has been a trend that has crippled and undermined the people who most need to be helped right now. For the past few decades there has been a growing quest to celebrate victimization. As each socio-ethno-political group and sub-group strives to prove that they are more put-down, held-back, shut-out and suppressed than the other socio-ethno-political sub-groups (or at least more so than the other gender in their own sub-group) people have slowly come to believe that rewards go to the most down-trodden. The sadder and more pathetic you can appear, the more likely you will be to gain favor from those in a better position.

It is as if we have lost our identity as a nation of survivors and instead adopted the idea that we are a nation of victims. Every news report tells about the victims of crime and the victims of a storm and the victims of automobile accidents, even when these people are NOT victims but SURVIVORS. The difference is much more than semantics. It is about how we internally identify ourselves. And our self-identity is a critical element in how we address problems. It affects how we relate to others and even how others relate to us.

This is point number one. If you want to get a job during a recession or to move forward in any endeavor at any time, begin thinking about yourself as a survivor and not a victim; in all situations, no matter what. And here is another, even more important insight about human behavior: People place a higher value on things that are in-demand or that are scarce enough to not be easily obtained.

Among those who are unemployed right now there is an almost uncontrollable urge to let others know how bad things are for you. I was listening to a radio segment where callers can offer their “verbal resume”. One of the questions the DJ asked each caller was “How long have you been unemployed?”, and each caller seemed to want to out-do the caller before, with greater tales of woe and hard times.

In spite of the fact that society lately has been training people to believe that the more down-trodden you are the more entitled you become, the truth about the way humans actually behave is the opposite. Human beings are attracted to those who are successful, active, engaged, in-demand, and even those perceived as “lucky”. There are countless studies that reveal our natural disposition to want whatever others want. Robert Cialdini, in his book “Influence” calls this phenomenon “Social Proof” and it is a double-edged sword. Not only do we want what others want, but we will avoid what others are avoiding.

The callers on the radio segment I listened to who were recently let go seemed like a far better catch than the ones who had been looked over and refused employment offers for eight, nine, or ten months. This seemed true not because they were more convincing or even more skilled, but because there was a natural inclination to wonder what was “wrong” with those who had been unemployed longer. Logically I KNOW there is nothing wrong. We are in the worst recession in at least 80 years and it might eventually prove even worse than the Great Depression. Very competent, qualified, dedicated people are unemployed through no fault of their own.

But even as an author and expert in human behavior I am not immune to the effects of humanity. I am as susceptible to the natural psychological triggers as all of us are. I recently brought on a very highly skilled person who had been laid off from a job that paid quite a bit more than I was willing to pay. One of the things that attracted me to having Paul on our team was the fact that even after being laid off, he was still very much in demand, in large part because he created the image of being in demand. He took on jobs that many people with his background and education would think would be “beneath” them. He even volunteered at places just to keep his schedule very full.

I don’t know if he did it consciously and strategically, or if he is just naturally driven to stay busy, but regardless I wanted him on my team. In fact, when he first approached me I wasn’t even in the market to take on a new team member and told him so. But like a survivor, he kept the conversation going and now I find myself worried that someone is going to hire him away from me.

This is not about playing “hard to get” games like a teen-ager in angst. It is not about posturing to pretend you are in demand. It is about filling your schedule with real, meaningful activities so that you ARE in demand. It is about taking charge of your situation. It is about becoming a survivor, which means you have to act like a survivor.

Julian Down Economy, Scarcity, Social Proof, Success

I am pretty stingy with my endorsements. I have lots of friends who want me to sell their stuff but I politely decline unless I TRULY believe in it. This usually happens less than once or twice a year and invariably I end up catching some flak about it for some reason or another.

Faithful readers might remember LAST November when I endorsed a company called Think Right Now for the help they provided me in really cementing some important beliefs in my mind that helped me accomplish more while getting into the best shape of my life. I liked the product so much (it’s just  a simple CD) that I invested in the company and endorsed their product and when people bought it, I made an affiliate fee (the HORRORS!). This created quite a little controversy. Apparently some people think you should only make money doing things you loathe and DON’T believe in and if you DO believe in something you should to that for free. I disagree, but we are all entitled to our opinions.

Anyway, if you are a performer or speaker or aspire to be either, I HIGHLY encourage you to purchase a set of the DVDs and CDs from the recent Eric Paul Super Conference in Philadelphia. It is no exaggeration to say that this was quite probably the single most important event I’ve ever attended either as a speaker or attendee, and at this event I was both.

I spoke on growing your business in a down economy and I will admit that I got a little “passionate” in my talk. If you are easily offended don’t watch the DVD of my session as I probably crossed the line on a few occasions and definitely crossed it at least once. It caused a bit of a stir at the conference but many people came to my defense and the video is evidence that what I said was absolute truth.

Frankly, Eric Paul (the organizer of the event) is down on his health and I think it has caused him to make some decisions that he wouldn’t normally make. He’s giving 14 DVDs, 9 audio CDs and a CD-ROM for less than you would pay for ten CDs. He’s charging less than most of us paid to fly to Philly! And you get it handed to you on a silver platter to listen to and watch at your convenience.

It is a great opportunity to catch some great speakers, hear some amazing insights, and review them at your leisure and he’s giving it away WAY too cheap. I’m buying a set and I was there to see it live. Get your hands on it while you can. He’s taking it off the market at the end of November. You have until the 27th.

Here’s the link to get what you need: Eric Paul Super Conference DVDs

And if you are interested in the product that I endorsed LAST YEAR, still use, and still get great results from, feel free to visit:  Think Right Now

But FYI: I will make some spare change as an affiliate on both of these products, so if this bothers you, don’t use the links above.

Julian Down Economy, Getting Things Done, Success

The other day I was listening to a guy complaining that he wasn’t getting paid everything he felt he was worth. I finally got sick of hearing him whine and so I called him out on it. It doesn’t matter what you think you are worth. The primary factor in your pay is what the person paying you thinks you are worth. If you have a boss, what are you doing to prove your worth to him or her? If you are a salesman, what are you doing to demonstrate the VALUE of what you sell? If you are a business owner, what are you doing on a consistant basis to PROVE that what you provide is worth MORE than what you are asking for it?

What have you done TODAY to prove your worth to the world? For more than seven years I’ve written a monthly column called The Business of Magic in a trade journal for magicians called The Linking Ring. That is a volunteer position that I have faithfully delivered on for almost 100 consecutive articles all for the simple opportunity to demonstrate my value as a writer, as a marketing consultant, and as someone who delivers on a promise consistantly over time. For almost that long I’ve been contributing to this blog and producing a periodic e-newsletter, again simply as a method of demonstrating my value as a professional speaker and expert on human behavior change.

When I first founded the company that is now called “Library Rat” there were times early on in the business when I would go do shows myself that I couldn’t pay anyone else in my company to do because the mileage covered would be more than we made in total fees for that one simple show. But I knew that when we got into that new marketplace and demonstrated value that we would have the toe hold we needed to grow into the most successful provider of school assembly programs in the state of Texas. Any very successful person can tell you stories about various times in their life when they had to work particularly hard for little or no compensation other than the chance to demonstrate the value of what they were working on.

We are in a sluggish economy right now. Almost everyone is feeling it at some level. Money is still there. Money is still being spent. But buyers feel a stronger need to ensure they are getting the value they are paying for. If you don’t feel that you are getting as much money as you deserve it might be because you are failing to demonstrate sufficient value. Think about ways to demonstrate and prove your value to the people paying. Think about ways to increase the value of what you do.

HINT: The things you do that you THINK create value are almost never the things that your customers and clients think are valuable. It’s the old “Features vs. Benefits” argument. Know that your customers don’t care if the table is made of 5/8″ solid mahogany planks treated with an impermiable solution of blah-blah-blah. All they care about is that the table is strong and it will clean up easily even if their kid colors on it with a green crayon. People are rarely concerned with the clever details you find so facinating unless you take the time to explain how these details actually add value for them. Buyers never care about how DIFFICULT something is for you to do, they only care about the finished solution and how quickly and effectively it solves their problems or makes their life easier.

So I’ve seen two responses to the sputtering economy. There are businesses (and employees) who have dealt with the lower sales by cutting corners, reducing quality, and delivering with an attitude of pessimism. There are also businesses and employees that have heard the wake up call and are paying even more attention to the customers they have, doing everything they can to ensure the satisfaction and happiness of the people who deliver money to them and their business. Today is filled with opportunities to begin demonstrating value. What are you going to do today?

Julian Customer Service, Down Economy, Success

The stock market seems to be turning around, albeit very slowly. Housing prices are on the slow rise again. And while this economic glitch hasn’t left us yet, it is easy to tell that she’s already packing her bags to go.

Frankly, I’m going to be a little bit sad to see her leave.

She’s like an old, crazy aunt from out of town that drops in to visit uninvited, stays longer than she’s really welcome, and puts everyone through hell while she’s in the house. But once she’s gone everyone looks around and realizes that they are somehow better because she was there.

Comfort is the enemy of change. Anytime a person is comfortable there is no real reason to go through the effort of changing.

You’ll never lose weight until the discomfort of your weight (physical, mental, or emotional discomfort) is greater than the discomfort you will experience doing what it takes to lose the weight.

Your business will never break new ground until your current model becomes so frightening, unsustainable, or discomforting that you take the risks involved in growing into new areas.

Relationships will never mature and develop to their full potential until you step out and take the risks involved in being emotionally vulnerable. And if a relationship is doomed, it will continue to linger like a dead albatross until the pain of breaking up is dwarfed by the pain of staying in the relationship.

Pain and discomfort are the ultimate catalysts of change. All growth is the result of change at some level. We grow when we become uncomfortable with where we are. Painful recessions are a great way to make lots of people uncomfortable enough to grow.

These last two years or so have really pushed a lot of people to take risks that they wouldn’t have taken in other economic circumstances. Some of those risks paid off, others did not. But society is better because the risks were taken. And the individuals and companies taking the risks are better off for having taken them as well. Yes, even the ones who took risks that didn’t pan out as expected, because every change results in some form of growth, whether emotional, mental, physical, or financial.

Julian Down Economy, Success

The video below just might be the most inspiring, fear-inducing, and truthful five minutes you’ll experience this year. It’s not me. I get scared just watching the video. That’s one of the things I love most about it. Plus, it’s just REALLY COOL!

Since I was a young pre-teen I’ve trained in the martial arts and for as long as I can remember I’ve always been the first to volunteer when it came time to spar, fight, or be the guy that the instructor uses to demonstrate a new technique.

When a visiting black belt comes to the school where I train Jiu-jitsu I’m always willing to roll with him no matter his size or experience. One day someone in class asked me “Aren’t you scared?”

“Sometimes”

“Do you really think you can take that guy?” he then asked.

“I hope not” I replied, “because every time I lose I learn at least two things. I not only learn a new technique that can be used to win, but I learn about a weakness in my own defense”.

Too often we strive so hard for success that we develop a fear and loathing of failure, when in fact, failure is one of the most important secrets to success!

For the past three months I’ve been studying a video of Danny MacAskill that many of you might have seen already on YouTube. If not, here’s a link to this incredible video.

Danny MacAskill - Inspired Bicycles

When we watch sporting events and we see the thrill of victory.

But we almost never get to see all the pain, and sweat, and frustration, and perserverence, and failure that it takes to get to game day. We never get to see it because it is tedious, and scary, and intimidating, and emotionally draining. We never get to see it because it is very time consuming and boring and repetitive. And because victory often starts before 5 AM when many of us are still asleep.

Watch this video and bookmark it. Study the first 1:20 because you get a glimpse of what Danny puts in to become the talent than he has. You still can’t see all the broken bones, all the stitches, all the scraped knees and elbows. You only get to see a few of the bicycles he’s destroyed in his quest for excellence.

Pause the video at 3:05 and notice the path that he’s worn up the side of that huge oak tree. How many hours do you think you have to spend rolling a soft rubber tire to wear down a groove in the side of an oak tree? How many broken bones, bent wheels, and blows to the chin between the time he thought up this particular stunt and the time it was videoed?

We’ll probably never know. All we know is the result of his efforts and they take less than 4 seconds from the time he approaches the tree. But what an amazing four seconds.

I don’t aspire to become a great bicyclist, or even a world-class martial artist. But in the things that are important to me I have allowed myself permission to fail. I have allowed myself permission to get out, scrape my knees, and fall down in front of people I care about. For the things that are important to me I have given myself permission to expose myself to ridicule. I have accepted that failure is almost surely part of the path, but it is not, and will not be my final destination.

What are you going to do today that scares you? Whatever it is, I give you permission to fail while trying as long as you get up and try again after you fall.

Julian Embracing Fear, Getting Things Done, Success, productivity

For too long now all the lazy, dysfunctional people of the world had to make their way by either sapping the charity of others or living on the government dole.

I’m not talking about un-skilled people who often have to take menial jobs until they learn valuable trades or develop the discipline that will allow them to move up through an organization, adding greater and greater value as they grow. I’m talking about the people of the world who are so emotionally disturbed that they simply can’t (or won’t) hold down a job where they work to contribute to society in a way that rewards them for their labors.

I just learned that T.O. (Tyrell Owens, professional-football-player-slash-gangster-wannabe) is now on a reality Television show. This is GREAT!

He’s following in the footsteps of other world-class losers like the Octo-mom who has no job, no husband or partner, and no source of income but was able to convince a fertility doctor to impregnate her with eight viable, fertilized eggs and gave birth like a bitch to a litter of puppies (I use the term here only in it’s legitimate use, not as the more often used slang definition, though either might apply).

Fortunately for the taxpayers, the Octo-mom was able to secure a deal for a reality TV show as well. While some have lamented this as a sign of the imminent collapse of society as we know it, I contend that this is proof that Capitalism works if we give it a chance.

I still think the doctor in question should have his license revoked as he clearly failed to uphold his moral duties charged him as a graduate of medical school. But I am also glad that this otherwise non-producer (and rabid RE-producer!) is able to earn a living and should hopefully be able to pay for at least the basic needs of her ridiculously large, single-parent family without too much assistance from you and me as taxpayers.

Of course, we owe all this to the likes of Paris Hilton, who had a monthly allowance from daddy bigger than most of us earn in a really good year but was willing to sacrifice her thin wisp of dignity in order to blaze a new trail for fellow whack-jobs who were not so fortunate to be born multi-billionaires. Her willingness to expose her lunacy on national TV for money that she clearly did not need, opened doors for fellow lunatics who might otherwise have to live on taxpayer assistance.

So for all the people who hear voices in the night telling them to shave their heads or drown their babies, for all the washed-up celebrities and musicians who squandered the millions they made when times were good, for all the athletes who could make hundreds of millions of dollars playing a game they love if they could only learn to get along with others, EMBRACE your new career as a reality TV star and thank Paris Hilton for showing you the way.

Julian Uncategorized

As many of you know, for more than six years now I’ve been writing a monthly column in “The Linking Ring” (the world’s largest, most widely distributed trade journal for professional magicians).

Distribution of the magazine is limited to the membership roles of the somewhat exclusive and secretive society, The International Brotherhood of Magicians. For those of you who are not members but would like to hear the business advice I’ve been providing the world’s top performers and entertainers I’ve recorded the various articles over the years and released them as audio products.

The most recent edition (Year Six) is now available as an instant, digital MP3 download. I work purposely to keep the total time of the recording under 80 minuts so that if you want, you can burn the recording to CD, if you prefer that format. Here’s the button to buy the MP3 if you want.

Year 6, instant MP3 download with no shipping - $12

Years 1-6 (8 HOURS!) instant MP3 download, no shipping - $59

Alternatively, you can visit my website http://www.julianspeaks.com/ and click the link to products. There you’ll find most of my 20+ books, all my CD programs including Business of Magic years 1-5 AND the entire set of years 1-6 as a “Boxed Set” discount in both downloadable format as well as CD that we can ship to you.

Julian Uncategorized

Last month I wrote about taking advantage of changes and economic turbulence as an opportunity to further entrench with your client base. I promised to share with you specifics including ways that my business is currently changing.

Here’s the low down on what I’m doing right now. Over the past several years I’ve really enjoyed sharing what I’ve done in my production company. We’ve experienced incredible success writing, producing, and delivering school assembly programs and motivational reading programs to schools and public libraries all over Texas.

I’ve hired several qualified presenters who now work for me and we stay very busy serving our little part of Texas.

I’ve also taught our system to several performers who are replicating similar success in their parts of the country and it is really satisfying to see that growth.

So, while I continue to manage the production company I have also grown the side of my business that relates to speaking and providing information to business owners. From the annual workshops I held each January for the past several years, to the various events around the country where I have been invited to speak. I really enjoy seeing the powerful effect that these sorts of events can have on people. I know that I’ve been to many events that have changed my life and it is exciting to be able to be a part of these events from the other side of the stage.

So, two things I want to share in this entry and then I’ll wrap up:

1) Branding yourself can be a very powerful tool. It is important and powerful part of marketing. It is also a very interesting process to have to re-define your brand. But I can tell you that it is easier to re-define your brand than to create one from scratch.

It was much easier for VanHalen to become “Van Hagar” (for better or worse) than it was for them to establish the initial name recognition. As “Julian Franklin Productions” becomes “Library Rat” it has been a surprisingly smooth transition.

2) If you’ve never seen or heard me speak before, here’s a short (3 minute) video clip of a part of a keynote I gave in early March, 2009.

Julian Branding, Marketing