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Archive for the ‘Fail Fast’ Category

5 Easy Steps To Make Your Next Painting Project Fail Proof

Friday, May 27th, 2011

Having a home that you love takes time and energy, which are two things most people want more of! That is why it is important to do your homework when you are ready to start on your next painting project. Here are my easy and fail proof steps to take to ensure you select the right paint colors for your home today!

  1. Feel First. Determine how you want to feel in the space prior to looking at paint chips or fan decks. This will help you stay focused on your end result which is your desired feeling.
  2. Be a stranger in your own home. Stand at your front door and close your eyes. Then open your eyes and experience what you see. This exercise will help you select colors that are complementary since you will see several spaces.
  3. Review and determine the undertone color of the existing hard surfaces, elements such as the floor, countertop, and cabinet colors and furnishings, furniture, lighting and accessory colors, when selecting for the walls, ceilings, door and trim paint colors.
  4. Always test your paint color before you purchase. How many of us, yes me included, have more than 1 quart of “oops” paint in your basement, colors you thought would work and didn’t! Most paint companies have inexpensive sample cans that are perfect for testing.
  5. Apply 2 coats of the paint color on both the walls and ceilings in different parts of your space. It is important to see both the wall and ceiling colors next to each other to get a clear visual of how the color will look throughout the entire space. Review the colors over a few days to experience the color shifts from the changes in the natural light.

As a color consultant for over 9 years, I have experienced a lot of frustration and stress from people trying to select paint colors. My advice to you is to take your time, feel first and sample your paint colors. This is the first step in transforming your home and yourself, so enjoy the process!

Kathy Banak is an interior designer, color consultant, and founder of  Authentic Home, interior design.  Over the past 9 years I have owned and operated several paint stores and know first hand the frustration and stress many people experience when selecting paint colors.  And for many it could take months and sometimes years to make the decision. There simply are just too many paint color choices available on the market today that people just get overwhelmed.

Check out my Authentic Home Blog and connect with me on Facebook and Twitter!


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Lessons from The Dailey Method

Monday, May 23rd, 2011

So, you think you can dance? If you can, I envy you. While some of you may be ready to two-step or salsa with the best of ‘em,  I have  had to find other ways to remain limber.  I now teach what I consider to be the most effective exercise I have ever tried. And I have tried a lot of them. My regimen includes a combination of that constant battle we call core-conditioning, as well as stretching, orthopedic exercises, and ballet barre work. Turns out I have a bit of ballerina in me after all.

My exercise of choice is called The Dailey Method, and I opened up TDM Studio in Scottsdale, Arizona almost two years ago.  It was the first of its kind in Arizona, and a name that very few people in the area knew or recognized. However, with ballet barre studios being the hottest ticket these days in cities like L.A., San Francisco, Chicago and New York, I was excited to introduce Scottsdale to the power of the barre.  Being the first does come hand in hand with risk, and I knew there was a possibility that I could fail.

The Dailey Method, along with other barre workouts,  is especially great for women because it focuses a lot on strengthening the smaller muscles groups in the core and around the spine which can offset, or ward off, Osteoporosis and help improve posture and balance. The method combines elements of Pilates and Yoga with exercises and stretches designed to target each of the major muscle groups of the body, so you first work the muscle then stretch it out, which is why it’s so effective at toning and lengthening the body, and creating flexibility. But again, in Arizona, I heard a lot of, “The Dailey what?”

In business, we hear, “If you make it past the first year, you will probably make it.” I visited other TDM studios, and not one of the other studio owners had gone out of business. There were about 11 Dailey Method studios when I opened, and by the end of this year there will be about 38 nationwide and one in Paris, so the ballet barre method of exercising is growing quickly and showing every sign that we will indeed make it.

Anyone who reads and “likes” this article on Facebook will be offered their first class free at The Dailey Method Exercise Studio in Scottsdale. Visit the TDM Facebook page and ask for your class. You shall receive.

This article was written for CRAVE by Linda Nofer of The Dailey Method.

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Tic Toc What Are You Waiting For?

Tuesday, May 10th, 2011

time's a tickin' / fail fast

Fail Fast-

It may sound like strange business advice, but I’ve invested a lot of money and years to learn this valuable lesson – so trust me.

If it seems harsh to propose failing fast, imagine the alternative of failing slowly – with the small heart attacks that never end year after year. Dare to fail fast.

Isn’t it true that everything we learn and know in life come from trial and error? From learning to walk, to starting a business, we fail in order to master. Sure, you should read all the “how to” business books and give thought to the business plan, but it will still be like learning how to swim by reading a book. It’s just not enough.

There’s been really fast (Wow Cookies-weekend) and really slow (Pike Place Market cafe-15 years) business failures in my life. My shelf life for ideas is now six months maximum. Whether I’m starting something new, or a project inside a current business, I get in, prototype, get it out there. Is it going to fly or not? The faster I know, the better.

I have no patience for perfectionists. When people tell me they are working on a business idea but waiting for the perfect time, location, or partner, my experience is that they will never launch. I don’t live in that world. You can have a Facebook page, twitter handle, and business card up today. You can design your book cover and put it out for comment before you even write the book. You can prototype a product/service and pretend you are in business before you actually take the real leaps. You can’t know what will happen (and I hope you succeed), but at the very worst your failure will be fast and you can take that idea back to the drawing board or simply pursue the next.

My two highest profit businesses as of today, were at one time certified failures. They later got reinvented, rethought, even “flipped” in an entirely new direction. They were fast failures of great value.

If you want to read more about the above businesses (and how I eventually made them work), check out my new book CRAVING SUCCESS.

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Introducing Our May Theme: Fail Fast!

Monday, May 2nd, 2011

Fail fast? What kind of advice is that?! Think about it. You have this brilliant idea, you’re infatuated with it, and you *know* it will be bigger than Beanie Babies and Harry Potter combined. How terrible are you going to feel if you invest your life savings, hours away from your family, and precious alone time into this venture and it fails? Do your homework. Test the waters. Find out if it will work and get it out of your system if it’s not worth it – as fast as you can. A great way to do this is “prototyping” your business before you actually launch to see if it will be the hit you’re hoping for. CRAVE founder, Melody Biringer, learned this first hand, and this month she’s sharing her lessons about prototyping businesses and failing fast. We also have great blog posts from CRAVE entreprenesses sharing their valuable tips and insights based on their experiences. Stay tuned!

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