The LaunchPad

How well do you know The Launchbox? Well…here’s a fun Friday scavenger hunt for you to learn more and also win a prize! The first person or business to submit the correct answers (must answer all five) will receive a 2 hour complimentary strategic business consultation from our team at Sonata Venture Solutions. The focus can be on marketing, branding, public relations, social media, personal branding, leadership development, or other areas involved in growing your business. Consultations may be in person or by phone depending on the winner’s location.

So, here you go: Below are five questions. Answers to all of these questions are somewhere on our website http://www.itsmylaunchbox.com/. Once you know the answers, please submit them to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . That’s all there is to it!

1. What are the 3 types of businesses that can benefit    from The Launchbox?

2. What is the cool title of the owner of Hoppers Kid Zone?

3. What is the vision for The Launchbox (hint: you might check the Media Kit)?

4. What event will Maggie be leading on June 8^th?

5. What was the date of the press release announcing Sonata’s Baltimore Office?

My business partner, Laura Meck, always says you can find a marketing message in almost anything.  If that is true, I just received a whopper!  A few weeks back I was teaching a Hospitality Bootcamp class at the Arlington Employment Center.  This is a fantastic program that helps unemployed individuals find new careers in the hospitality industry.  I am always so inspired by the participant stories and eagerness to do well.  Part of the “graduation” ceremony requires each participant to make an oral presentation in front of the class on any topic they wish.  One woman told a story about how she loved to look through old books on the library’s FREE cart.  She found a small book of poems and shared one of them with the class as a way to provide encouragement and strength as they began their new jobs.  I was so enthralled with the poem, I asked her to make a copy of it so I could take it home. 

While this poem is really targeted at how to live your personal life, as Laura says, I think there is a very strong message useful to budding entrepreneurs and business owners.   I share this poem with all of you, The Launchbox® community, to say take a look at your vision and mission.  Is it connecting with your heart?  Owning your own business can be very scary sometimes.  Remember this sage wisdom and advice….

Good luck & Stand tall –

Maggie

Advice From a Tree by Ilan Shamir

Dear Friend,

Stand Tall and Proud

Sink your Roots deeply into the Earth

Reflect the Light of your own True Nature

Think long term

Go out on a Limb

Remember your place among All living beings

Embrace with Joy the changing seasons. For each yields its own abundance

The Energy and Birth of Spring

The Growth and Contentment of Summer

The Wisdom to let go like leaves in the Fall

The Rest and Quiet Renewal of Winter

Feel the wind and the sun and delight in their presence

Look up at the moon that shines down upon you

And the mystery of the stars at night

Seek Nourishment from the Good Things in life

Simple pleasures

Earth,

Fresh Air, Light

Be content with your natural beauty

Drink Plenty of Water

Let your limbs sway and dance in the breezes

Be Flexible

Remember Your Roots!

ENJOY THE VIEW!

We'd love to hear how you're growing your business.  Please shoot us a message or check out how others are building their companies through our social media networks.

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Sonata Venture Solutions is an outsourced marketing, branding and public relations company focused on small/mid-sized businesses and solo-preneurs.


The Launchbox® is a workshop designed to help business owners/ entrepreneurs grow their businesses through marketing, branding and public relations.  The Launchbox provides you with the instruction and tools necessary to build your business.

About the author:  Maggie Clayton 

Maggie, Executive Director for Sonata Venture Solutions /The Launchbox, is a creative and fun professional and educator delivering results for over 20 years.  Maggie joined the Sonata team in 2010 and has delivered The Launchbox workshop to a wide variety of audiences.  The Launchbox is a workshop that can be taken in person or online with support by certified instructors.  Sonata Venture Solutions is an outsourced marketing provider.  The Launchbox is its educational outreach arm.  Whether you want to completely outsource your marketing to someone you trust, or you want to educate yourself on current and traditional marketing techniques, we are here to help.

Everyone has been posting on various social media channels the “30 days of Thanksgiving.”  Until this year, and yes thanks to social media, I had never heard of the 30 days of Thanksgiving… While I haven’t kept up, outlining the 30 things I am most thankful for, a different post today made me stop and take notice.

On Facebook today I learned that a great local wine bar will be closing at the end of the year.  The owners Patrice and Tony are fantastic, supportive through the community and provide our town with a great local spot to catch up with friends, or as we like to say “solve world peace.”   The wine bar, Patrice and Tony will surely be missed.

They have apparently been (from what I can tell through social media) harassed by a small group of catty women.  I’m not quite sure exactly why these people are hell bent on having them close the wine bar.  Maybe they received poor service?  Maybe they didn’t get their food out in a timely manner?  Maybe they were cut off for being drunk and stupid!  Who knows what the real reason is for the harassment?   It’s a sad day when any local business closes.  It does impact the economy, beyond the jobs provided at their location.  Closing one, albeit small town wine bar, will impact more than just the bar owners.  It will have reaching impact to the patrons (who will spend their money perhaps in another town), the city and county – financially, the vendors who supplied the food, wines, beer and so many others.

Small businesses are the heart of America.  We should be supporting their efforts, patronizing their establishments, and buying goods and services.  Small businesses employee the majority of Americans and continue to be the fastest growth for jobs in our economy.

I’m grateful to have the opportunity to follow my dreams, to have supportive family and friends and to live in a place where (I thought) people rallied around one another.

I do hope they reconsider and feel the support of the community behind them, at the wine bar.  They deserve to follow their dreams and we deserve the right to a great little local wine bar.   I’m thankful I had the opportunity to meet both Patrice and Tony and to share in their hospitality!

It's been an exciting year here at Sonata Venture Services and with The LaunchBox® growing at a compounding rate we wanted to bring you a new and exciting portal. Well...

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the technology... Better then it was before. Better... Stronger... Faster."

... you just have to be open to it! What a crazy day, I feel like I have worked an entire week inside of 10 hours - I had an early morning meeting with John Herman, author of Hermanisms. He's an amazing businessman - he's realistic, honest and straight-forward. After two hours talking to him and reviewing my business plan and strategies, I felt I could conquer anything. If you haven't read his books, blogs or had the opportunity to hear him speak - you can check out some of his work at Herman University. While you may not find anything "new" - you will have an aha moment!

Several client meetings and great calls with old friends in the industry- each day brings something new and exciting.

I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings