Explaining the direction of craigmcbreen.com

Guess what?

This blog is just over a year old.

I know, time flies, but what an amazing year.

I’ve met many incredible people, and I have learned a ton, not only about the world of social media, but about my little old self.

In the coming months, I plan to have a revamped site and a more streamlined direction that I’ll detail below. To be realistic, we’re talking 3-6 months, but the changes will be steady and significant. And I hope very significant in one-year’s time.

You might call it a public launch, and I will be reminding you of the changes along the way. In the meantime I’ll be tweaking away on design and direction.

I think this is a perfect time to describe exactly what I want to accomplish here.

Why? Well …

1. I’m a fan of goals.

2. A publicly stated goal is even better, because I know more than a few fine peeps will hold me accountable.

For the most part, I’ll be writing about branding, design, and content, but my goal is to NOT put you to sleep.

I strongly believe a blog needs big, bold life, emanating from both the owner and the community.

And this tin can of a blogosphere is stuffed with more than a few sites about the above topics.

So, my little crib will be about embracing the creative spirit and making it work for you and your business.

Unleashing the creative beast inside you.

BUT the new direction will be WAY more about how to put this stuff into practice.

I’ll be writing about topics such as visual branding, design psychology and entrepreneurship, and how small businesses and solopreneurs can actually make this all work to their benefit.

And guess what? I’ll be giving you all a big push along the way. Some like to call that personal development, but I like to call it kick-ass motivation.

There are tons of design blogs out there writing about tips and tricks.

Branding and content marketing are buzz words we read about every day.

And personal development is probably the most pervasive topic on the social web.

This place will become a one-stop-shop for all of the above, linked together by the theme of breaking out. Combining creativity, productivity and entrepreneurship. And infusing it all with the spirit of “go.”

I want to go beyond convention and more importantly, I want you to do the same.

So, for those who like outlines here you go:

My Quest
To help individuals and businesses build a strong and cohesive online presence leveraging my over 20 years in branding and marketing.

To provide simple, actionable steps
First by writing more about branding, design, the psychology of design and content. And then, making this all work for you.

Motivation and implementation
I’m now working on a few offerings and if you’d like to follow my progress on them you can sign-up here. It’s all about teaching, motivating and putting the above topics into practice.

So what the heck do I know?
Well, over 20 years experience in branding and marketing, combined with over 17 years as a small business owner.

But my main goal is to provide content that is engaging, extremely beneficial and motivates you – the small business person, the solo online entrepreneur, the individual blogger – to truly break out, by utilizing your own gifts and using the power of branding. It’s a combination of my years of experience in the creative field with an equal share of no-nonsense inspiration, based on my life experience.

Who will benefit from all this?
Small businesses who want a strong, cohesive brand presence.

Solopreneurs who need that kick to push them over the hump.

People who want to embrace right brain thinking.

Entrepreneurs who are dying to tell their story in an authentic way.

We shall find and deliver your killer swag.

And, I’ll be talking a lot more about something I know well, design.

I also seek to highlight entrepreneurs and inspiring people. This has the potential to become a much larger project and I’ll be sending out the details in my eNewsletter.

Here’s what I would love to see one year from now …

• Engaging, quality, actionable content that was delivered twice a week, every week.

• An email newsletter filled with high quality information that has helped many put this stuff into practice. You can sign-up for that right here.

• At least 2,000 readers who are learning and doing through email updates and RSS. A truly engaged community.

• A completed book that wraps all these practices into a tight, cohesive package that truly benefits the reader. An eBook or something self-published.

• Highlight people who are doing all of the above. For more about this, your can sign up here.

The ultimate goal is to create great content that will truly benefit the small business owner, blogger or solopreneur trying to bust a move. And hopefully create a nice little, amped-up movement at the same time.

So, this place is changing for the better. I want to help, but I also want to build a community of like-minded souls.

The next 3-6 months will be a flash really, but changes will be a comin’, you can take that to the bank.

After 17 years as a business owner and just over one year of blogging I’m ready to bust a move myself.

I hope you will join me.