Branding David

I wasn’t able to attend the Podcast and New Media Expo in 2008, but I heard it was an amazing success. I was able to attend the BlogWorld Expo though, and I was even fortunate enough to be asked to speak on two panels. Recently, it was announced that the two events would be combined into one Blogging, Podcasting, and Video Podcasting mega-event.

I am both excited and concerned about this merging of events. I have found the podcasting and blogging communities to not always “get along” and they seem to be at a different place when it comes to making a business from such pursuits and so I wonder how these events will be combined without ruining both experiences.

I am hopeful that I can attend BlogWorld and New Media Expo, as it is now called, and would be very honoured to speak at the event once again, but with it becoming one event, will there be tougher competition with regards to choosing speakers?

The whole community is waiting to see how this new event comes together and what it will mean for speakers, businesses and attendees.

From the Press Release:
“The lines between blogs, podcasts and videos are blurring in that content creators are using all of these tools to communicate and share information online – the message is more important than the medium,” said Tim Bourquin, founder of New Media Expo. “Given that people are mixing podcasts, video and blogs to deliver their message, it became obvious that our two events should come together and provide a single all-encompassing conference where attendees can learn all of the latest and best content creation techniques in one place.”

“As more content is being created and shared online, the market for an event like this is growing at a rapid pace,” said Rick Calvert, founder and CEO of BlogWorld Expo. “Bringing together the world’s largest podcasting event and the world’s largest blogging event creates a unique learning, networking and business environment for everyone involved in new media. Our attendees include individual and corporate content creators, new media as well as tradional media companies, entrepreneurs and enterprise-level marketing professionals.”

BlogWorld & New Media Expo 2009 will feature conference tracks on everything from creating better audio content to using social networking tools to grow your brand, blog audience and nurture the relationship between content creators and their audiences, as well as companies and their customers. As in previous years, after-hours networking receptions, special events and parties will combine to make it the gathering of the year for the new media industry.

A weird question was recently brought up with regards to success and capital. Do you need a lot of money to become a success, or is personal and corporate branding and promotional techniques enough to bring anything from unknown to popular?

With the clamp down on venture capitalist funding, it makes this question all the more relevant to people that I know and talk to. It also made me wonder how much money it would take for me to build the business I have always wanted, and do so overnight. See, I consider myself very thrifty, but on the flip side, I understand how much time, money and passion it takes in order to build a very successful business or brand online, and how these things must be weighed, especially if you start to bring on staff to help you accomplish your goals.

What is Success?

The question that we each must ask ourselves before determining how much money we need to make, is what is success, and how much of it do we want? Many companies and individuals would list success as having millions of dollars of profit at your disposal, but I am not one of those people.

Success to me, is being able to choose when I work, while still making enough money that I can comfortably support my family and being able to enjoy the occasional purchase on a whim without worrying what that means sacrificing.

To put a dollar amount on this is rather difficult, as my life situation is still in constant flux, with my wife in University, and my personal interests for both business and hobby still being fully explored.

Is Lacking Money Holding You Back?

Another question to consider before understanding how much money would be needed to make you or your business a success includes considering the key factors. For me, money is only holding me back in that I have to dedicate time to making money that I would prefer to dedicate to new and/or exciting projects.

For many people, time is more a consideration and concern than money, as we only have so much time to spend on things, and having money would free us from having to earn a living at one job, and allow us to pursue our goals in life. Many branding experts, and successful business people won’t cover this point. They will sell you on the “just do what you love, and the money will follow” aspect that I hear preached so much, but in reality, you have to balance doing what you love with earning a living and supporting yourself and sometimes a family.

Conclusion

If you really consider these points, you would probably realize that you need less money than your imagination lead you to believe, and that your goals, while still difficult, are much more realistic and closer to reality. If you figured out that you only need enough money to support your family for a year, plus some money for a programmer or designer, that could be much easier to obtain than the millions we would all like to have.

The biggest question people have been asking me, and probably themselves on an increasing basis as the year closes out is “what are my goals?”

It can be really difficult to define them sometimes, but holding your dreams, goals and aspirations close to your chest will allow you to chase after them, and hopefully reach them. I was recently asked what my goals are with regards to my career. People were assuming that I wanted to become a full time consultant like other Internet personalities try to present themselves as.

But for me, I just want to continue to learn, teach others, and give myself a variety of tasks, roles and things to do in my daily rotation, so that I keep happy, all the while keeping my family afloat by bringing in enough money that my wife can continue her University studies.

My goals are fairly simplistic on the surface, but really complex in practice. Trying to find ways to enjoy everything I do, and make enough money to keep my household afloat is difficult to do, especially during these trying times, but that is my goal, and I am going to stick with it.

I hope everyone reading this has been or will take some time to consider their goals, and work towards them. Also, make your goals known, so people don’t make assumptions that may change their perspective of you and your actions.