Very happy to welcome Business Storyteller Victoria Prozan to the Women Branching Out interview series.

I’ve been biz crushing on Victoria for about a year now, since I first heard her say, “Creativity is our superpower.” Music to my ears!

Victoria uses her own creative superpowers to help entrepreneurs brand their businesses and build beautiful customer experiences.

Here’s Victoria …

Tell us about you and your business. Who do you love to serve and why?

My turn-on in life is creative expression. Not simply my own, but diving into how others imagine, create, and communicate.  And to me, that is what being an entrepreneur is all about. To express our message and passion. My business focuses on two ways we can communicate our vision and value. Branding and Customer Experience.

I love to serve entrepreneurs who are in this business-building thing for the long haul. Those who understand that every day in business is an adventure that can best be measured, not only in profit, but in relationships and experiences. Ambitious women who know patience, persistence and self-acceptance are the foundation of success.

What is The Superluxe Naming Experience?

It’s my unique branding process based on my own personal creative methods. It’s a series of prep exercises to look at your business from both a creative and an analytical point of view. Then I use my brainstorming powers based on your homework, before we have our session. And then, when we are both ready to haul-branding-ass, we come together in a 90 minute session in which we create tons of names, tag lines and other branded language that will move your business to the next level. The goal is for you to walk away *on fire* about your business, brand and the future they will create for you.

What’s the biggest myth about brand names, tag lines, and product names that keeps entrepreneurs spinning their wheels?

There’s a lot of conventional knowledge out in cyberspace that says “yes, do this” or “no, no, no, never!” in regards to building your brand.  And while there are definitely smart practices and tried + true advice that needs to be considered, the most important part of branding is that it MUST turn you on first!

If your names, tag lines, websites, logo, copy etc. light you up every time you say, read, or introduce yourself, THAT is super powerful! There is nothing more irresistible than someone who is enthusiastic, right? So find that message, vision, raison d’être within your business, then build a brand around that! Ooh la la! 😉

One key piece of advice:
The more meaning you can pack into the fewest words, the more accessible your business becomes. Clarity is important, but over describing for fear of not getting your message across can dilute your power. Simple is harder than it looks because it means you need to edit, edit, edit. Sometimes we get overly attached to what we’ve created and editing it back can be painful. But when you can bring out the inner editor in yourself, your entire business will profit.

And don’t think of editing just in relation to words. Everything in your brand — visuals, images, copy, tag lines — keep pruning it back, season after season. Just like the trees and bushes in your yard. Getting rid of the riffraff allows room for new growth and ideas when they come up.

You’ve helped tons of entrepreneurs name their businesses, products, and services. How does it feel when you and the client create just the right name?

Delicious! Spine tingling! But, truth be told, it’s not always a lightening bolt kinda moment. We each have a different way of creating, processing and deciding.

So, I like to remind people when we do run into frustrations — an unavailable domain, words on the tip of our tongue that just don’t come on demand, whatever is blocking the entrance —  to breathe deep and remember getting to the finish line is a *when*, not an *if*. Creativity is not a linear process and those loops we sometimes have to run, are just as amazing and imaginative. I’m a big believer in everything happens for a reason. Those blocks will lead you to your right branded language, without a doubt. Trust the creative process.

What is customer experience (CX) and why is it so important for online businesses to embrace it right alongside marketing and branding?

CX is a macro view of your business through the eyes of your customers (and potential customers). So branding is part of Customer Experience, but there’s so much more.

I’m looking to start a conversation online about the importance of quality and excellence as we produce our offerings and communicate with our audiences. And when I say quality and excellence, I *do not* mean perfectionism. No ma’am!

At the heart of good CX is seeing and acknowledging your customers, every step of the way. Knowing what they need before and better than they know themselves. Anticipating how you can make your business delight them at every turn.

Commerce online is evolving. I think most of us are burnt out on more, more, more. More content, whistles and bells in info products. More weeks, modules, hoops to jump through in group coaching. Simple is the new black. Being able to hone in on exactly what we need in the moment, digest it and move on to the next focus.

Strip down to the core value and knowledge you offer and then polish the hell out of that. Make what you offer accessible, engaging and mind blowingly great! Like Seth Godin says “Be remarkable!” Customers are sacred, act accordingly.

What brands are great examples of customer experience done just right?

Some of my favs these days are:

• Method. Never has soap made me so happy!
• Chipotle. “Life is Burritoful!” is the messaging on their receipts. Such a little detail, but it sums up my love for their brand, ethics and business model.
• Moo. Just got another round of business cards printed and every step was a delight.
• Mailchimp.  I love that cheeky monkey and his sassy messages.
• Zingerman’s. A small business in Ann Arbor, Michigan that does *everything* right. Seriously. They are my CX heroes. When I visit or order online, it’s like going to Disneyland. Sigh.

How has having your own business empowered you?

Where I once allowed others to define who I was, on a personal level, I now understand that I need to lead myself to success. I was waiting for permission to speak up and shine. And all that leads to is more waiting, doubts and frustration.

My mantra this last year has been “other people’s expectations are none of my business”. That is crazy liberating!

I’m more confident than I’ve even been. I no longer surround myself with negativity — my own or others’. I wear my ambitions proudly. I want to impact the world, in my own unique way. If someone doesn’t get it, puts it down or mumbles about it behind my back, no worries. My world keeps turning.

If you had to pick just one book from the resource lounge to be required reading for all business ladies, what would it be?

Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind rocked my world. Go read it now 🙂 It will give anyone lots of insights into the importance of stellar CX, in addition to tons of other important business insights. He lays out the future of business and how creativity is the key to making money. Hot stuff!

Finish this sentence. I believe…

I believe that we already have everything we need for success baked into who we are. Our job as entrepreneurs is to learn how to best showcase and communicate that value. Simple, but not at all easy, but we’re all up for the task!

Victoria Prozan is a Business Storyteller who helps entrepreneurs bring an honest voice to both their brand and customer experience. When you raise the bar on your own business, offering and brand, you eliminate the competition. Strip away the whistles and bells, stop trying to keep up with the Entrepreneurial Joneses and redirect that energy to making the your quality — in every way that can be measured — stellar. You can find Victoria at her website and on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

Have any mind blowing customer experiences lately? What made them so good? Share below!

Very happy to have Tania Elfersy on the blog today!

Tania is the award-winning co-author and publisher of Purple Leaves, Red Cherries: A Gift for Mothers with Short Stories, Journal & Toolkit a gift book for new moms.

In 2010 Tania created her own publishing company Flower Cap Press and self-published the book, which has gone on to win four international book awards.

You can visit Purple Leaves, Red Cherries to watch a trailer for the book, download free chapters, and send an inspiring ecard to your favorite mom.

Welcome Tania

Tell us about your favorite part of the process of creating Purple Leaves, Red Cherries with your long-time friend Andrea Katzman.

The whole creative process was like a dream!

After six years as a stay-at-home mom, I felt very lucky to return to work and launch my self-publishing project with such a creative and supportive team.

Andrea (my co-author), Nomi Melul Ohad (the book’s illustrator), the graphic designers and editors, everyone who worked on the project was a talented mom who felt emotionally connected to the book. It was a wonderful working environment – very different from the corporate environment in which I used to work, pre-motherhood.

You used a collaborative approach to source many of the stories for the book. What did you learn about motherhood from all the stories that were submitted?

That motherhood is a disruptive wonder like no other on earth!

Perhaps I knew this deep down before I started working on the book, but when you bring together such a range of stories and emotions from so many women, the epic tale of motherhood spreads before you like an exquisite and very special tapestry, revealing sweet and bitter secrets.

In Purple Leaves, Red Cherries we couldn’t tell every woman’s story but we do offer a great view of the tapestry. We hope that when our readers look at the details, they’ll realize they’re not alone.

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How did the process of self-publishing the book empower you?

Like birth for the first time, when you discover and can appreciate your body for all its magic.

I had no experience in the publishing industry and the learning curve was huge, so when I held my own book for the first time, I certainly enjoyed an “I did it” feeling.

Then when I won my first book award, that feeling intensified!

What’s surprised you about becoming a self-publisher?

Just how hard, lonely and time-consuming marketing a book can be!

Even though I’ve won four book awards and the book has received a string of loving reviews – and I really enjoy marketing my own product – I still feel like I’m working very hard for every single sale.

I’ve been told by some industry experts that for a book like mine, it can take up to three years to reach a break though in the market. Luckily, I’m in for the long-run!

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How did your experience as a mom impact the vision you had for the book?

I’ll always remember that when I had my first child, I had little time for anything else apart from caring for my baby. There was so much learning, uncertainty and fatigue in those early months that it was hard for me to connect with the huge shifts occurring in my life.

From the start, my vision for the book was that it would be an inspirational tool to ease a woman’s journey through early motherhood.

In order for the book to succeed, I knew I had to make it accessible to new moms by offering bite-sized food for thought. No story in the book exceeds 140 words and the self-development exercises are short and sweet.

Hopefully, each time a new mom opens the book, she’ll have the time to read at least one short story.

The gift book includes journaling space for moms. Why do you think it’s important for new moms to express themselves in this way?

As new moms, we spend a lot of time thinking about what’s happening to our babies and what’s best for them. Yet, we don’t spend nearly enough time thinking about what’s happening to us and what would be best for us in motherhood.

Journaling is a great way to explore these questions and reflect on the huge changes we undergo as women. It helps us clarify our thoughts, leads us to constructive action and allows us to be creative – all very uplifting activities for new moms.

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What’s next for you and Purple Leaves, Red Cherries?

I’ve been working on additional products and services that will support new moms. The first to launch, in the second half of this year, is Motherhood & Me, a two part workshop that uses stories from the book to create dialogue around issues of motherhood. Rachael Ellison, the coach and organizational development consultant who founded REworking Parents, worked with me to create the workshop. It offers midwives, doulas, coaches and group facilitators a structured way to help new moms in their communities.

In addition, I’m working to secure a number of foreign rights agreements that will allow the book to be published in different languages. The book has already been translated into Hebrew and will be published in Israel within a few months. It’s very exciting!

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Tania Elfersy is the co-author and publisher of the award-winning gift book for new moms, Purple Leaves, Red Cherries: A Gift for Mothers with Short Stories, Journal & Toolkit. In 2004, Tania left her career in corporate marketing to become a stay-at-home mom. Six years later, then a mother of three young children, Tania had a vision of a book for mothers that became Purple Leaves, Red Cherries. She established Flower Cap Press and self-published the book (her first). In 2012, Purple Leaves, Red Cherries won four international book awards.

Every copy of Purple Leaves, Red Cherries purchased from the book’s website, allows $5 to be donated to Every Mother Counts, an organization that helps save moms lives through improved maternal health care. You can find out more about Tania and the book at Purple Leaves, Red Cherries and connect via Facebook and Twitter.

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Tania’s book helps new moms. If you’re planning to write a book someday (or already in the process) who will your book help?

Welcome Megan!

Very happy to welcome Mama Strategist and a wellness expert Megan Flatt to the Women Branching Out interview series.

She helps moms find their groove, claim the time to do it, and create the energy to support their own Mama Revival.

Megan is the creator of Nap It Out, a 14-day online productivity and time management course for busy moms. The next round of Nap It Out begins April 22nd.

Win a spot in Nap It Out!

You can sign up for a free Mama Revival Moment Worksheet (just for Jewels Branch readers). In the worksheet look for details on how to win a free spot in Nap It Out! Entries must be received by 12 noon (Pacific time) on Wednesday, April 17th. Winner will be announced later that day.

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Here’s Megan …

Tell us about you and your business. Who do you love to serve and why? Where in the world are you located?

I’m Megan and I serve moms who are ready to embrace their own Mama Revival. I help moms find their “Mama Groove” and then once they do, I help them claim the time and create the energy they need to stay there.

I live with my amazing kids, Brady (5) and Rylan (2), and my awesome husband in a little town just north of the Golden Gate Bridge in the San Francisco Bay Area.

What’s a mama revival and why do moms (and the world) need one?

A Mama Revival is all about a return to consciousness, renewed attention to ourselves and chance to flourish again. It’s not about wanting anything different from our job as a mom, it’s about wanting more.

We bring these little bundles home and they are completely dependent on us. We completely lose ourselves in their world and in caring for them. Then things start to level out and we are not sure what to do next. We want to be present for our families, but we want to take care of our selves too. We had hobbies and interested before kids, but we are not sure if they still fit our new life, or if we even want them too. A Mama Revival is all about figuring out that next step.

Your Revival doesn’t have to be a huge thing. Your Mama Revival could be to read more, or try new recipes or learn to play the harmonica! Anything that makes you feel more fulfilled as a person, therefore grounds you in being a mom.

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What has your personal mama revival looked like, so far? What little changes have you embraced to get into your mama groove?

Returning to entrepreneurship has been my Mama Revival, but it has been a four-and-a-half year journey. All my life I have been an entrepreneur of some sort, from babysitting to being a National Fitness Presenter.

But I had thought once I had kids, I would want to be home with them. After my son was born, finances dictated I go back to work. I got a job working for someone else, because I thought it would be easier with a baby. It was … but I was unhappy. I thought I was unhappy because I wanted to be home with my kids full time. But my Revival started when I realized I wanted my kids to be my greatest accomplishment, but they wouldn’t be my only accomplishment.

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How has having your own business empowered you?

When I made the realization that my unhappiness was not because I was working, but because I wasn’t working for myself…it was like fireworks went off. It was such a huge ah-ha moment for me. My business is my journey to self-fulfillment. Every time I sit down at my computer to write a blog post or email with a client, I am taking care of myself too. I am fulfilling my passion by helping other moms embrace theirs.

I am creating my own destiny and taking care of my family in the process. I can work on my dreams, and then spend the day at the zoo or the beach with my kids too. It really is the best of both worlds…which is what never realized I wanted all along.

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You’ve been a pre- and postnatal fitness expert and personal trainer for 20 years. How has this experience influenced your online business?

My whole career I knew working with moms was my passion and taking care of moms would lead to happier families. I started my career framing ‘taking care of mom’ by only her fitness endeavors. After working with thousands of moms and becoming a mom myself, I realized there are SO many ways moms need to be supported beyond fitness.

I looked back over my years of working with clients and realized the really good stuff was happening between the bicep curls. The real ‘mama care taking’ was happening with everything else we talked about during our training sessions. I am still a huge advocate of exercise and nutrition based self-care, especially during pregnancy, but I knew I was meant to serve moms on a much broader level.

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Being a mom can bring out such a strong inner critic (mommy guilt). How do you help moms start to silence this critic and move forward?

Oh … mommy guilt is such a tricky lady! She comes up over and over again and in many different ways. She might tell you that you are not doing some aspect of parenting ‘right’ or that pursuing a personal passion is selfish and will take away time from your family. I am not sure mommy guilt ever goes away, I know it hasn’t for me, but I think it is all about managing it.

I have moms write down a “Mama Mantra” … basically taking their “I’m not doing this right” worry and turning it into a mantra like “I am the perfect mom for my family.”

For me, scheduling has had a huge impact eliminating guilt I feel about the time I spend on the things that are important to me. I don’t feel guilty about taking time for myself on Tuesdays, because I have planned Wednesday to be a kids and mama day.

Tell us about Nap it Out. What is it and why did you create it?

I have always been someone who keeps many plates spinning at one time. After I had my second child however, I felt like too many plates were hitting the ground too often. I have studied time management strategies and LOVE lists and calendars, but I felt like the information all the gurus were teaching didn’t fit my mommy lifestyle.

I created Nap It Out after I found myself overwhelmed and sobbing in my driveway. I knew I had so much to offer this world, and my family, but I had to figure out a better way to manage my time and get things done as a busy, hands-on mom. It worked! It worked so well I had to share it with my mama friends and it worked for them too. I knew The Nap It Out system could help so many moms whether their project was cleaning out their basement or writing a book proposal. Moms need a system and support, and Nap It Out offers both.

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Finish this sentence. I believe…

… moms can give their children the world without giving up their own.

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Megan Flatt is a Mama Strategist and a wellness expert. She helps moms find their groove, claim the time to do it, and create the energy to support their own Mama Revival. She is the creator of Nap It Out, a 14-day online productivity and time management course for busy moms. The next round of Nap It Out begins April 22nd. Megan has created a special Mama Revival Moment Worksheet just for Jewels Branch readers, you can access it by clicking here (as well as a chance to win a free spot in Nap It Out). You can catch up with her on her website, Facebook, and Twitter.

If you’re a mama (or not) what do you love to do to help yourself feel fulfilled and grounded? Comment below!

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