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SMARTY.

The human side of business

Small Business

The Tension.

July 6, 2015 · By Amy Swift Crosby

TheTensionThis is a feeling you’ll recognize to the degree that you’re connected to your gifts and talents. For better or for worse, the more deeply you understand your contribution to the world, the more this thing pains you.

So here’s the tension.

There’s what you know how to do in your business – your general IQ on how to build it, run it, communicate it, position it. And then there’s what you know is missing, even if you don’t know what it is. The wider this gap, the more it hurts. 99 percent of us have a limitation to the resources we want to or can spend on getting our work out into the world. We do the best we can, and fumble, and succeed, and do it all again – all in a days work. But what happens when this goes on for too long? Do you quit? Is the effort worth the rewards that feel far and few?

Living on this edge is what most of us do. We imagine that something will come along to change things, to interrupt a stagnant cycle, or to at least bring inspiration that could lead to turning something around. And those things do happen – but not usually to the point where we see big financial rewards. And that’s ultimately where we want to see the love – on the balance sheet.

There’s no question to each our gifts and skills. That’s not up for debate. But what is in question is how we deliver those to the world. One talent does not lead to another, and when it comes to marketing, it is the only packaging we can (as consumers) rely on to determine if we like you, or we don’t care. If too many people don’t care…well that math is pretty easy to do.

Identify people who get you, and can communicate for you. There’s too much incredibleness out there to be hidden in average copy, mediocre video, mainstream messages…and if you think I’m talking to you, well I am – but I’m also talking to myself as much as anyone. This applies to each of us, just in different ways.

The world needs you. Remove the static and present yourself.

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About Me

photo of Amy Swift Crosby

Amy Swift Crosby is a brand strategist and copywriter who has positioned or voiced messaging across the commercial spectrum, from icons like Ford, BVLGARI, Pottery Barn, Pantene and Virgin, to boutique brands like The Wild Unknown, fitness franchise Barre3 and the rebrand of legendary metaphysical bookstore, Bodhi Tree. She has leveraged this expertise to help entrepreneurial women and small businesses owners hone their skills, mission and message, while uncovering their own “voice.” This blog explores “the human side of business,” and universal themes like uncertainty, anxiety, the tension between engagement and disconnection, personal value and most importantly, of finding - and hearing - our own voices in our everyday life.

Photo - Andrew Stiles

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SMARTY began as a thriving community in Los Angeles and Boston with weekly panel discussions and events designed to better understand the mindset and growth strategies behind successful entrepreneurs. Today, SMARTY is a weekly blog written by Amy Swift Crosby who chronicles her life as a creative, parent, entrepreneur and spiritual seeker. As an urban refugee living in a New England seaside village, she unpacks topics ranging from uncertainty and doubt to the built environment and advertising. More on Amy.

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