I love it when Bruce Turkel has the time to come on the air with me at Fried On Business. His optimism and confidence are absolutely contagious.
In case you don’t know, Turkel is the CEO and ECD at Turkel Brands in Miami. He uses his creativity and business acumen to help companies build their businesses by making their brands more valuable.
He recently shared this bit of wisdom: Where branding and business development are concerned, you have the ability to do whatever you want. So many of the barriers have gone away as a result of advancing technology.
Turkel is a living example of this. If he has his laptop computer and iPad within reach, he can work.
He jokes that he spends his life in pursuit of three things:
1. Wifi access.
2. An electrical outlet.
3. A bathroom.
And, by far, one of his favorite pieces of technology is Evernote, a cross-platform web application that allows you to jot down notes and remember things – anytime, anywhere.
Turkel recommends pairing Evernote with what you’ll find at thesecretweapon.org to create a vibrant personal productivity system.
“Once that tool is put together, anywhere you go is inspiration for the things you do,” he said. “It allows me to work wherever I am.”
Evernote contributes not only to Turkel’s productivity but his creativity also. He can draw in it. He can write in it. He can even record a melody in it (he’s a musician, you know).
But there’s a key to the creativity, Turkel said.
“Creativity, in my opinion, is putting old things together in new ways. Picasso took a bicycle seat and handlebars, put them together, and created a bull’s head that was a commentary on the evolution of Spain throughout history. Somebody came up with the idea of a flea market and the Internet, combined them, and created eBay – and made an astounding amount of money,” he said.
The problem with creativity, Turkel said, is that it doesn’t strike when you want it. When the ideas come, if you don’t capture them at that moment, they could be gone forever.
But if you use a tool like Evernote on your cell phone or tablet, you can capture ideas with ease.
“It’s like having a sketchbook with you at all times that is always searchable.”
Here’s a great review of Evernote and some similar apps.
Turkel also had some astute observations regarding the subject of branding. As you know, I’ve been doing a lot to raise awareness of my wife Vivian’s need for a kidney donor and to raise money for her care.
I have no regrets, but I have been a bit worried that what I’m doing might adversely affect my brand.
Not to worry, says Turkel.
“I think anytime you include personal stories, and you get people to know you better, they have more interest, not less, in doing business with you,” he said.
“You don’t want them to feel like the only reason you’re telling them this is because you’re hands-out and looking for something, but on the other hand everybody has issues. Everybody has their cross to bear. Everybody has an albatross around their neck. You pick whatever metaphor you like.”
To hear about our challenges humanizes me in their eyes, Turkel said. It builds a stronger relationship.
Being personal and being transparent sets you up to do good business, Turkel said. And, by the way, you might as well accept the need to be transparent, because in the Internet Age there’s very little privacy remaining.
We talked about much more, including:
– The need to accept thanks from grateful clients.
– The need to build your community, both online and offline.
“Build those relationships, and they will pay you back over, and over, and over again,” he said.
Click here to listen to the full interview with Bruce Turkel of Turkel Brands.
