Interview: The Million$ Party Girl Talks on Succeeding In Business, Lighting Candles & Empowering Your Inner Visionista
republished with permission from Consumption Conversations
There is only one Million$ Party Girl…and it’s Lynn Bardowski! You can meet Lynn, if you do not know her already (shocking!) at her site, www.milliondollarpartygirl.com. Lynn is an energized person who literally shines! One of Lynn’s sayings that she adores is, “A candle loses none of its light by lighting another candle” and, in Lynn’s case, she is certainly the embodiment of that expression. Lynn motivates. She inspires. She leads by example – with no excuses or exceptions! Who is Lynn Bardowski? Lynn is a mother. Lynn is a friend. Lynn is an award-winning author. Lynn is a motivational and inspirational speakers at scores of business events and networking galas. Lynn is a mentor. Lynn is one of the South Jersey Biz Magazine Top Women To Watch! Lynn is an entrepreneur…And she is the Million$ Party Girl!
How would you describe yourself, if you had one minute?
I describe myself as a Visionista. (Visionista is defined in my book is “A woman who knows who she is, where she’s going, and guides her tribe of leading ladies to the top.) By the way, I’m a Maxxinista too.
What is your philosophy for marketing and branding…yourself?
My philosophy is you can’t build a million dollar brand with a $10 Vision. Start with your vision, create a brand that communicates your vision and “show up” as your brand. Then, market the crap out of it.
What mistakes do you feel most people make when it comes to telling the world about their superpowers?
Ego is our kryptonite. Men are very good at telling the world about their superpowers, but make big mistakes when they use their superpowers to feed their ego. Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong come to mind. For women, our egos work in reverse, feeding our limiting beliefs. We tend to feel pushy and see sharing our superpowers as bragging, and feel guilty about tooting our own horn. The biggest mistake women make is not letting the world know what their superpowers are. I’m on a mission to change that.
Now what do you feel are the biggest mistakes most BUSINESSES make when telling the world about their superpowers?
Not delivering on what is promised. If your superpower is leaping tall buildings in a single bound, you better be able to leap really high, and look good doing it. If you don’t, say you’re sorry and work hard to make it right. As a result of social media, consumers want brands to speak directly to them in “social-speak” vs. salesy marketing lingo. Domino’s Pizza is a great example of this. They built a brand on fast pizza delivery. It turns out their superpower tasted pretty bad. After listening to customer feedback Dominos basically said, “My bad. Our pizza stinks.” To fix it they created an ad campaign called Pizza Turnaround that was a huge success. Consumers love it when brands share their faults and keep it real.
What is your greatest achievement as an entrepreneur?
I’m thankful and grateful I had the courage to act on my passion, follow my dreams, and more importantly, help others build theirs. That feels really great.
What is the biggest mistake you ever made as an entrepreneur?
My biggest mistake was letting my ego get in the way. When I failed, I took it personally, and let failure define my value and self-worth. It was as if failing was something that happened to me. It took me a long time to learn failing doesn’t make you a failure. Now I embrace failing as part of the success process. You can’t have one without the other.
What are the marketing and branding tips you feel are most important for entrepreneurs today, in terms of defining who they are and what they do – and making sure potential clients realize all they have to offer?
I could write a book about this. Here’s a thumbnail version. It starts with creating and communicating your vision. Vision inspires you, and others, to act. Find your niche and start to build your tribe by launching with a live event. Not everyone will “get you” or want/need what you have to offer. That’s ok. You can’t be all things, to all people. Branding is not about getting potential customers to pick you over the competition, it’s about being perceived as the only one that can solve your clients problem. Avoid the logo-in-a-box trap (no free biz cards from vistaprint please) and hire experts that will help you get your message out. When I created the Million Dollar Party Girl brand I hired a branding expert to create my logo, a lawyer to trademark it, a web designer to create my website, a PR rep to send out a press release, an editor for my book and a professional photog for a branding photo shoot. Within a year of that process I became a #1 best-selling author, radio host, blogger, created LynnTV and Visionista U, won 3 entrepreneurship awards and I’m a sought-after speaker. If you’re the best kept secret in your field, you’re playing too small. If you need help, class is in session at Visionista U.
What is one of your favorite quotes by someone that inspired you in some way?
Amelia Earhart is one of my role models. Did you know that in addition to being an Aviator she was a professor, author and clothing designer? Amelia Earhart said, “The only way to do it, is to do it.”
What is one of your quotes that you hope inspires others?
I have to go with the title of the first chapter of my book: “You’re not who everyone thinks you are.” I hope that inspires women to connect to their passion and purpose, and step into their power.
Lynn Bardowski is an award-winning entrepreneur, best selling author, national speaker, mentor and radio show host. For insights on entrepreneurship, leadership and vision, read her book, follow her blog and “LIKE” her Facebook page.
