What Is #Success ? Paige Arnof-Fenn Founder & CEO Mavens & Moguls

 Paige Arnof-Fenn

Founder & CEO Mavens & Moguls

Staying True To My Core Beliefs

Loyalty is one of my core values—loyalty to self and to others whom I respect. It’s important to me to gauge how many colleagues and customers come back and refer us to those who trust them. Being true to the mission of the organization and delivering superior experiences matter to me a lot.

Having the confidence to walk away from a client or colleague who’s diluting the equity in your brand is tough, but it’s necessary sometimes. You must always be authentic to the essence of your brand and surround yourself with people who reinforce your brand and its values–not tarnish it.

So I’ve come to the conclusion that for me, relationships matter. Quality encounters matter. Honesty matters. Consistency matters. Authenticity and integrity matter. The experience and the journey matter. Focus on what matters to you and get rid of things that don’t. Taking the clutter out of your mind and your life frees up space for more of what you value.

Success is very personal so your definition will be–and should be–different than mine. To me, growth for growth’s sake is meaningless, but profitable growth with interesting clients solving important problems is what keeps me engaged and excited.

The ability to spend time with people I love and care about is critical. My reputation really matters, and the positive word-of-mouth means a lot to me since almost all of our business comes by referral.

In my experience being brutally honest helps build trust and relationships with clients. No one likes being told their web site/name/tag line/materials are sub-par but sometimes it needs to be said.

I have been in meetings even ones where we are pitching new business and made comments about confusing copy, double entendres, broken links, poor navigation, etc. and although sometimes it will backfire in many instances they see the point and appreciate the candid feedback.

Sometimes a person will come up after and actually thank you for “being so honest” or saying what others have felt but were afraid to express.

The best example for me was when we were invited to submit an RFP for a large client (all the other firms invited were large agencies) and in our pitch we highlighted the fact that the document was poorly written and not very clear so could be interpreted various ways so that in fact instead of being one 6 figure engagement it could easily be interpreted to be 2 very large projects but we did not want to scare them off so assumed they meant the smaller scope.

The President of the company asked me to explain what I meant. He paused and said we were the only firm that mentioned it and he agreed and asked for a second proposal from us, we ended up winning the entire project and it is still the biggest engagement we have ever done in the history of my firm.

He also apologized because a new junior employee wrote the RFP it was her first one and he asked us to serve as her brand coach in addition to the project so she could learn about marketing processes correctly from us.

We got 3 pieces of business out of it! You hate to ask stupid questions but sometimes asking clarifying questions and having them explain what they mean can end up in your favor (and triple the work)!

A Great Quote About Success  

Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a little bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”