Did they say nothing but strings…or nuttin’ but stringz? (btw, I <3 these guys).

Alright my little emerging teen CEO’s let this be a lesson in marketing, branding and company names- Nuttin’ But Stringz when said very quickly or phoenetically correct sounds like Nothing But Strings…does it not? Perhaps Nuttin’ But Stringz looks SICK in graphics on a poster and because it has a Z at the end of the name but the big problem is…

…when you are marketing your company and your brand and know that you will be featured on a frickin’ National Television Program no less (and have amazingly sophisticated yet raw talent like they do, if I must say so myself) whether you are good or not simply put—

You need to have a professional online presence– but more importantly than that, folks gotta to be able to find you EASILY. So once you got your name together, your site together, your everything together, make sure you can be found and register your site on http://www.feedburner.com so that information is constantly being pushed out to the likes of Google & Yahoo and other search engines whenever you post new information on your website or blog.

Translation People: Whether you are on TV or online there will be folks checking you out from all around the world so you best reserve every domain name that sounds, looks and feels like your company name and/or brand.

Whether you are on national televison or recording a video of you singing acapella on your Wal Mart webcam (Read: Dondria Nicole) the point is millions of people are watching you (or can be watching at you at any moment). It is like dayum - if you are going hard core like that you best be prepared and ’act like’ you are already there!

Long story short, I don’t own a TV so I heard the name Nuttin But Stringz in passing. I found a bluegrass group, an old school Michael Jordan and Larry Bird video “Nothing but Net”, but I couldn’t find NBS anywhere so I finally went to the reliable as ever You Tube where I found a video of them….that somebody drunk must have shot with their camera phone. So I am leaving you with a link to the very upscale and professional website of Nuttin’ But Stringz  (turn up your speakers, good stuff-show your love and buy a cd or something)

And  my friends as an added bonus here’s my 3 Tips to Avoid a Jacked Up Teen Entrepreneur Branding Campaign (note: in this title no way am I trying to imply or infer anything about those who I named in the aforementioned piece I wrote. But I knew you thought about it for a minute, you frickin’ little politcally incorrect nitpickers..always trying to find a slant on something, go find a life damnit ;-) ) :

1. What’s In a Name? You never really know until you make it right? So from Day 1 assume you are going to make it…and make it BIG! Reserve domain names that describe what you do if possible or something that people might be searching for. If you can’t find the name you are looking for see if you can find the .net version or hyphenate the name. You can always forward the name(s) to your very cool business name. i.e our branded name is ‘Renegade CEO’s’ but our actual blog name is teenentrepreneurblog.com (what people looking for us are most likely searching for).

2. Hit Me Back…Figuratively not literally ok? Have a sign up box or RSS feed (www.feedburner.com or www.technorati.com) so that people who visit your website and like your vibe and what you are about can sign up on your contact list. Remember you need to have a strategy to keep in touch with them and not expect that it will happen in reverse…And make sure you send them something occasionally so that they keep you on the mind and buy something from you when they are ready to purchase whatever you are offering.

3. When You Are Happening….So is everyone around you. Funny how that works. Make sure your look and presentation reflects the type of people that you want to be associated with. If your pages on your website and everything you are working on is always ‘under construction’ or ‘coming soon’….probably so are the people who hang out in your network (anyday now, I know, I know).  So keep it real and keep it moving by taking baby steps i.e. completing small projects that you can handle easily and have money to pay for.  And make sure you focus on closing out projects and jobs and ideas that are relevant to what you are doing TODAY. Keep everyone in your network in the loop (inc. prospective clients and sponsors). And always, always, always, work with people who have good follow-through so that you are continually putting new stuff out there and closing deals.