5 Ways To Brand Yourself Right Now!

Ok, if you know me and follow my numerous blogs you are fully aware of Designing Women Inc. and if not then I officially invite you to jump on board to the best business to help you succeed from now to INFINITY!

Side note: Designing Women Inc. is a business of products and services exclusively designed for the OPTIMISTIC woman in YOU! From The Art of Networking, Branding and consulting services to an array of beauty products this company is all ABOUT YOU!

So this blog solely speaks of BRANDING

Do you have one clue what branding is? Yeah you can Google it but I am positive you will be HIT with too many results to decipher which ones are credible... But lucky you Zanade CEO of Designing Women Inc. will give you a head start!

Branding is: The process of creating a unique, positive and recognizable identity for a person, product or service.

So how would you get started?

1) Get to know social networking sites! Who cares whether you prefer Facebook over Myspace... It's all about getting your BRAND out into the social networking world!

2) Create a mantra, a saying, a quote anything that is YOURS! Take me for example many people know me as the Networking Queen that follows the saying "To Infinity and Beyond!" ... So with that being said...create yours and stick with it!

3) Grab a Twitter account! www.twitter.com (Might I add President Barack Obama has a Twitter profile!) Yeah! So get with it! Along with famous people and places like Starbucks, CNN and Beyonce!

Follow me www.twitter.com/zanade

4) Think Different! What is so unique about what you are doing that you know will create buzz???

5) CREATE A BLOG! Now you may not have 200 comments or 15,000 followers but your BRAND will be picked up by Google... FAST! And that builds SEO (Search Engine Optimization) which is very important in this digital world!

Thank you for giving yourself a chance to learn and grow! NOW GO OUT AND CREATE YOUR BRAND!!!

Zanade Mann
Designing Women Inc

A night with a Prince (and some other stuff!!!)

Contrary to popular belief

1) I don't party

2) I am a Gemini

And 3) I am obsessed with nail polish (but we will leave this one for another post!) lol

But last night I decided to have a good time with a good friend without solely focusing on professional aspects of my life, and although he tried to make me talk about work I side-tracked him so elegantly he didn't even notice lol

Let me say it was a long time coming because when I do events or go to galas everything is about work, no matter how many glasses of Merlot you see in my hand! Zanade is the networking Queen so I have to stay true to my title, but last night I let that go so that I could enjoy a moment to relax, relate and release...

1) We have a Black President who not only embodies what many men in this world should but he is strong and has a great woman beside him!

2) My intense workout is going great

3) And for purposes of this blog someone very special to me gave me a night of laughs and true joy... So thank you :-)

Ok, so after I sweated to the oldies for an hour the Prince* picked me up and we headed to the wonderful world that is Union Square. I must admit that my attire wasn't the best (weather conditions) but I made it work... A DIVA always does... with flashy butterfly earrings and flowing hair I was set to thrill!

Prince* took me to this great spot called Spice (if you never had then you must go NOW) For some reason he suspected that I was a bit uneasy with eating new foods but if you truly know me that is never the case. I was just taking it all in; the place was so beautiful I felt right at home. So I normally like to have the man order... I must say I am quite old fashion when it comes to that (my grandfather was such a gentleman) So after 20 minutes of being indecisive and having the waiter prompt us twice to order I let Prince* take care of business. He ordered these great shrimp and chicken fritters with a spicy sauce that was so tasty but eating them was a bit odd... Prince shoved the entire fritter in his mouth and suggested I do the same... so me being adventurous threw the entire thing in my mouth (weird visual I KNOW)

We talked about goals and life and of course he asked "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" now ladies be careful how you answer this question, because your answer could scare the hell out of that man! Some women go off and start talking about marriage and mortgages (two things that scare the hell out of ME!) So I answered that I intend on living my dreams and having an established business and such. He began to tell me what his plans are and I was intrigued by every moment! Prince* is a very motivated DIE HARD individual so grabbing my attention was easy!

After that he gestured that we go see a movie and of course he said "Have you seen Notorious?" And ... for the record NO! I HAVEN'T! But the next showing was way too late for me so we opted to see My Bloody Valentine (not a great choice but suitable for the time and place)

Side note: When did 3D get so popular again? ;-(

We laughed and jumped at every single thing that SHOT at us (literally) and I must mention he has great arms and I took advantage of holding them EVER chance I could... it was a great moment and I took a deep breath to inhale the wonderful thought provoking.....WEED? What the heck I thought and totally blanked out from the classic horror movie girl-grabs boys arm routine and said "Is someone sitting in the movie theatre smoking weed?"

Prince* so embarrassed says "Yes... Yes it is weed."
I HATE THAT SMELL! I thought and proceeded to ignore or try to ignore what the dumb kids were doing...

OK, Jump to the mid-end of the movie..

Prince* and I are totally confused and he wants to know where did we get lost and I am still stuck at trying to adjust my eyes to see the darn thing in 3D! Then by the end we finally "GET IT"

Disappointed? Not really because I spent the night with a Prince* and like a true man (to my standards) he made sure that I got home safe and sound so that I can pick up bright and early on MY JOURNEY!

Sincerely,

An essential shining DIVA*

Zanade

The more things change the more things some things remain the same

Reality

I hate complaints!! I dislike people who don't do anything but complain about everything. For instance lets take this evening where I had to play the lead role at Pink Polka Dot.. (my all girls org)

Its something more of moderating sessions between myself and the youths. I like to call this performing, because when I get in front of those adoring eyes I put on a SHOW! So here I am dancing and singing and shouting loudly when a certain somebody decides to "ahem" interrupt me!!!!!

PICTURE THIS...

The DIVASAURUS wearing a lovely blue and cream polka dotted dress with eyelet ruffles and tan Manolo's to match, DANCING and SINGING around the opera house tables. The fans being tantalized by my monstrous voice and seductive rolls and then a mortal questions my DANCE Routine!!!???!!!!???

The music stops and the band looks on as the DIVA gives it to her "AHHHHHHHHH"

Reality

I looked at the culprit with only a dangerous grin that certified my annoyance and sheer disgust that someone questioned me!

I ignored it and moved on.

Here's the thing don't say anything out of context to me and I won't look at you funny...

And the fact that this person nearly complained about my performance pissed me off. Then no less than an hour later tried to play nice to me!

Reality...

If you are not satisfied with the way things are then don't involve yourself in it or speak up at an appropriate time. Don't question the master's logic and you will be fine. Find a subtle way to say what is wrong. Because at this point a DIVA is mad.

But honestly the things I say and do is fabulous and in life there are people who will question you... Who says their question is worth anything? Complaints = dissatisfaction and that is one thing a true DIVA doesn't do and that is DISSATISFY

Ya Dig?

LOL

Talk to you soon!

Disgusted Diva

I had a whirlwind weekend everyone! But I want to highlight or after you read the subject matter you may want to call this low light. I encountered this woman or whatever you want to call her while exiting the train station in the city. This woman was rather anxious to direct me down the block after she noticed me staring at my phone fiddling with directions. "Where ya going?" the eager woman says and I simply brush her off like any REAL DIVA would. But she asks again "Where are you headed pretty lady?" so I entertain her for the moment and say I am looking for 37Th and 8Th and she flips her knapsack around her waist and says "Follow me!" so with conviction in my voice I say "OK".

Why struggle with HopStop?

I didn't really bother to look at her but then she began running her mouth about being homeless and this (directing traffic) being her profession. So I instantly became interested in her. I asked her why was she homeless and why didn't she choose to sleep in a shelter and she told me she would rather be free to do her drugs than be restricted by shelter staff to what time she had to be home. I mean in a way I understood because who wants to be TOLD what to do? But I didn't understand why she let drugs rule her being. I explained to her she is letting the drugs tell her what to do and she stared at me and whispered not a word.

What shocked me is that miss independent tried to play the con artist role on me by saying she was pregnant and needed food. So I could have been the gullible social entrepreneur but oh HELL NO I am not!!! I am the most FABULOUS SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR DIVA around! Which means I take no shit from anyone. You didn't meet a nice tree hugger who cares about everyone and gives all she has to the needy. I uplift and serve and SHOP. I am not one to be used. So I told her that is not a very good hustle you have going on and she looked puzzled.

So as I approached my block I told her to get her life in order stop being weak and join a drug rehab and get into a shelter because at this rate she is looking to be killed! It is so true like someone may look at her as less than nothing as I first did and they may not care about her babies and drugs and traffic position.

What disgusted me the most was that she was a sister! She was down and out and didn't care. Drugs was more important and I feel her because sometimes LATTES are more important than my next meal but I would never go to that extreme. How do some people get to that point? Why do you not value who you are and your life?

Miss Independent I know you would probably never read this blog but to one DIVA to another person on the grind KEEP YOUR HEAD UP PLAY IT SAFE AND PLEASE VALUE WHO YOU ARE! NOT IN MEASURE OF DRUGS OR YOUR STAND AT BEING INDEPENDENT BUT BECAUSE YOU ARE SPECIAL YOU ARE NOT LESS THAN NOTHING!

Damn what a blog..........

I guess the "good lover" was not all that "good" after all LOL

I stay single for a reason... My girlfriend for some insane reason decided to pursue a man that has been giving her G (game) for over three months. Now I say this because there were some rumors years ago that this certain G Man was terrible in bed. Now I don't know about you but I take notice when I hear stuff like that and choose not to find out if the rumor is true or not. But she wanted to know; considering the attention he was giving her lately G G G!!!!

She reported back that all that was said WAS true so she pretty much wasted her energy on G Man and I am laughing my ass off (had to spell it out LOL)

It is wild because she doesn't understand how a man so cute could be so well... bland in bed. Hey I told her it happens to the best of us and she should try her best to forget it all!!! Well with me sending her voice messages laughing uncontrollably that may be hard to do but that shit is funny!!

But what is even worse she didn't tell him he was trash! Now a real DIVA knows she has to tell him that immediately after the bad romp. So now he is all in her face and apparently thinks he did a job well done when it was really a thumbs down lol

Diva's!!! Nip bad sex in the bud NOW don't wait LOL

Sorry Crissy this was too good not to post

Love ya!

I done heard it all!

So back to my bitterness LOL

I was at an event and me being me of course five men wanted my attention and I amused myself watching them feign over me. But what shocked me the most was what one told me... ok wait...I know that most of what I write is published and many eyes can see and many lips can talk so I will leave names out!

This gentleman lets call him was the nicest guy I have ever met at a party. He didn't crowd me or rub his umm ... parts on me so I was feeling it. But a DIVA is always thinking ahead so I knew there was something WRONG somewhere! AND I WAS CORRECT

I noticed weird patterns and began to drift away from him because I was like oh hell no not again LOL He started to say he had obsessions and shit I am like you got to be kidding me! Like the stuff he was saying was very uncommon and now I wish I hadn't handed him my business card!!! Damn!

See why I say a DIVA is always going to be alone? Too many weirdo's out here!

What does falling in love mean to a DIVASAURUS?

Well it is not the most appealing picture when you think of love but it is to some extent what it means to me. Let's take the technical component of love. Dopamine a naturally occurring chemical that helps to cause feelings of pleasure in the brain and is the main cause for this love feeling and then it is a fact that higher amounts of serotonin leads to obession and lower amounts lead to depression. So it sort of explains why when you meet someone you are attracted to you get a lot of energy and you often think about this person, because the chemicals in your brain are overactive! No one can tell you different about this person they are your world or what many call thier SOUL MATE! All that considered don't let a little technical talk stop you from falling in love just know that it is not all that magical after all!

So where does that leave a me? I think at this point in my life I am grinding (working)too hard right now to let things like love slow me down and that leads back to the whole chemical reation thing. I have been in love two times and during both times I started to lose focus on few things not many but I did become distracted by the LOVE JONES. I have yet to find someone who understands what I do and actual has no problem with it. With time commitments to virtually everyone how can I commit to one person? I have tried; trust me and it didn't work either I needed much space or couldn't spend enough time with the person and it bothered them. Hey cool; I can deal with that because I cannot sit around worrying about the specifics! There was one point in one of my previous relationships that I found myself crying day and night because of a break-up!!! AT THIS POINT IN MY LIFE... I say are you kidding me? Donald Trump says a broken heart should not stop business and he is right so I decided to wipe my tears and continue what I do.

Call me bitter but I determined I have no time for love and certainly no time for drama so I put it in the back burner. A DIVASAURUS is on a path to perfection with no drama no naysayers NOTHING.

That being said; me having love for my friends and family of course. Me fall in love again? Highly unlikely.