Ming means light, bright, or clear. It’s a word used to describe dynasties and vases and is a common name in several Asian cultures. Some interpretations of the word in context might include “love” or “bird singing.”
Every second Friday night, I do an online hangout with “my Ming”, Ming Johanson, Mother of Unicorns and CEO of Marketing Jumpstart – both of those titles being self-proclaimed as well as apt.
My Ming is not someone who allows others to define her. A little outrageous, sparkly, and all things intriguing, Ming is also a master of her craft. The beauty of a vase, the wisdom of an empire, shining a light for those who come under her wing when it comes to designing websites and being creative.
I met Ming through my friend Rob. I loved his websites, enthusiasm, interesting marketing angles, and inspirational thoughts on new markets and new ways of providing counselling services to men who might otherwise not be regular-go-to-counselling kind of guys. Rob’s a Kombi Counsellor, with visions about chauffeur-counseling men on the move. He’s very clever and niche.
I had ideas for marketing my business but knew I did not have the kind of skills, panache, and courage that Rob was getting from his conversations with Ming. I knew he’d been working with her for several years. The value was obvious. The confidence was obvious.
I’ve now been working with Ming a few Friday nights each month since May. I thought I was hiring a web developer. To my surprise, Ming has been so much more – more Guru than Web Developer.
Straight up, she led me through a questionnaire to get my “Brand Profile.” It’s a bit like a branding version of Myers-Briggs. What’s your “type” so you can market your best self to like-minded people?
I knew Rob’s brand profile had sounded flashy, risky, edgy – a bit like him. I was excited, anticipating what mine might be. When Ming first told me it was “Neighbor,” my first reaction was disappointment. It sounded a bit too “girl-next-door” (how ironic). The portfolio for “Neighbor” branding showed the types of colors, the types of photos, the types of copy, the types of fonts. It was very appealing (and still sounded suburban). She started to ask about my life and laughed out loud when I told her my husband works for Bunnings. Bunnings is a “neighbor” brand. So is my favorite car brand, Volvo.
Sensing my slight disappointment at what I thought was a pedestrian marketing slant, Ming showed me “The Rebel.” Oh gosh – that was NOT me, not my colors, not my photos. “Neighbor” suddenly rang with familiarity and comfort. Ming assured me I would not be disappointed with the end result and she was right.
Knowing my brand profile enables me to belong in my business in simple and profound ways. From how to dress for my photoshoot, what photos to use for posts, the colours and styles that “work” to represent my approach to life. It connects me to the people who are most likely to want to use my editing services because they will also like my colours, my photos, my text. It represents me as safe, conservative, thorough, approachable, giving, and connected. The brand type leaks into my life and colours my world in ways I hadn’t seen before.
Now I love my brand profile. It’s given me confidence, a sense of belonging to my website, my writing, my services, my life and even my committee of business advisors. My business feels like an extension of the things I naturally want to contribute to the world, my belonging and truth-telling. I finally understood why my friend Rob had been so connected to his.
Over time, Ming and I have solved problems on the website and of the world. We have talked about everything from managing customers to managing people. We ebb and flow between conversations, connections, experiences, the “here and now” stuff that gets in the way of progress, money, time, the fears, hopes, and dreams of creating businesses, service and results.
Friday nights with Ming are my inspiration. It’s awesome watching her immersed in creative genius and the speed at which she translates my thoughts into something that’s a match for the business. She is Genius for me, a Guru for my business, an Angel for my peace of mind, and maybe, just maybe she’s the Mother of Unicorns for my future.
