If you’re a celebrity, you’re used to red carpets being rolled out for you and being greeted by name and with a smile. Wouldn’t it be great to be admired and complimented by strangers on a daily basis? I sometimes wonder what it would be like if business associates bent over backward to cater to my personal desires and needs. That may sound far-fetched, but in Hollywood it’s the norm.
The good news is that someone has actually taken some of the most coveted secrets from those who serve the Hollywood elite and applied them to real-world business. Meet Donna Cutting, author of The Celebrity Experience, and president of Donna Cutting Presents!
Donna Cutting wasn’t a typical kid. Instead of playing games and watching TV, she was busy putting on talent shows for the neighbors, rehearsing her Oscar speech in the bathroom mirror, and signing autographs for anyone who asked–usually her parents.
But when she grew up, she took a second look at the path she had taken. “I was a frustrated stage actress who had pushed those dreams aside in favor of collecting a regular paycheck. I worked for a while in the field of senior living and, although I loved it, I felt the ‘actress’ and ‘entrepreneur’ in me tugging away.â€?
As soon as she figured out a way to combine her theater experience with her business skills, she was off and running.
What is the most important piece of advice you would give to other weekend entrepreneurs who want to grow their businesses?
Cutting: You’ve got to be willing to go the extra mile and do those things that your competition isn’t willing to do.
In my presentations, I will sometimes suggest that employers buy a red carpet to welcome new employees. One of my audience members went back to his workplace excited by this idea, and was met with groans and questions, such as, “Who’s going to be in charge of that, who will store it, who will clean it?” As you can imagine, he was deflated.
When I spoke to the director of wow at High Point University, one of the featured companies in The Celebrity Experience, he told me “that would never happen here. Here we would buy the red carpet and figure out how to seamlessly make it part of our everyday life at HPU.”
It’s that kind of “yes” attitude that has HPU campus visits up 70 percent and enrollment up 63 percent in three years’ time. It’s that kind of “yes” attitude that will quickly put you on the entrepreneurial A-list and move you from just weekends to full time.
You’ve got to be willing to go the extra mile to wow your customer.
Tell us about the early years as a weekend entrepreneur.
Cutting: I did keep my position at a senior living community for about a yearafter I decided to start a speaking business. I spoke here and there on weekends and evenings, for fee and for free. If you wanted me to speak for your organization, I was there, as long as it would fit around my work schedule. To be honest, I probably left my job too early. With a few months’ salary in the bank and high hopes, I took the leap and soon discovered it was not as easy running a business in my 30s as it had been selling Avon when I was 10.
So I took a variety of different positions during those first few years that enabled me to keep my schedule flexible to accept speaking engagements. The jobs were varied. I did a bit of consulting for a former employer, I worked as an “observer” for a company that built museum exhibits, I even waited tables and would pray that no one who was in my audience at the Rotary Club that day would come in for dinner. There were two additional jobs that really contributed to achieving my business goals. I produced and performed interactive theater shows for children, which became another company in and of itself. Since it grew very quickly, I was able to learn some business basics through trial and error. It was through those performances that I developed my interactive speaking style that I am known for today.
If you were to ask me the single position that really helped me get to where I am now in this business, it would be taking on the role of assistant to another speaker. A coach I was working with asked me what I needed to learn to build my speaking business and encouraged me to find a job that would help me learn it. So I offered myself as an assistant to a successful speaker. I was able to learn how to effectively run a speaking business, and that speaker is my mentor and one of my best friends to this day.
What did you learn from those early years that helped you to move your business forward?
Cutting: How much I needed to learn. Like many entrepreneurs, I started my business because I loved my topic and I loved speaking. Instead, I found I needed to learn bookkeeping, marketing, sales, etc. Fortunately, entrepreneurs and other speakers are very generous with their knowledge. Perhaps more important, the more I focused on my audience or my customers and what they needed and wanted, the more business came my way. It’s not about me; it’s about them and how I can make them feel. When I began focusing on making others the stars of my show, whether from the platform or through our customer-service practices, that’s when my business really began to soar.
Who should read your book?
Cutting: My book is perfect for business owners, entrepreneurs, managers or anyone who works in a service industry. The Celebrity Experience shows how to turn customers into lifelong, adoring clients by delivering consistent red-carpet customer service.
If you work in health care, education, association management, hospitality, car repair, PR and marketing, HR, banking and finance, retail, insurance, airline or travel, plumbing, roofing or trades there are examples and information in this book specifically for you.
If you are striving to create bonafide buzz for you and your business, then you should be giving everyone who walks through your doors The Celebrity Experience.
Donna Cutting is living the life of her dreams in St. Petersburg, Florida, with her husband, Jim, and Snowball, their Maltese puppy. You can find out more about her at donnacutting.com.
This entry was posted on Thursday, January 17th, 2008 at 10:21 pm and is filed under Work, Starting a Business, Growing a Business, Women in Business, Mindset. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.8 Responses to “Give Your Clients Red-Carpet Treatment”
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January 18th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
What a great interview, I will order Ms. Cutting’s book straight away. I own a small but growing business and am always looking for new ways to make it really stand out, to attract new customers as well as keeping my old ones coming back. I look forward to reading The Celebrity Experience soon!
January 18th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
I know Donna Cutting well and have read her book - and I know how much she “walks her talk”. She does make her audiences the star of her show, and they love her for it. The Celebrity Experience is an incredible book, filled with little-known, yet extremely valuable facts, best practices and tips on how to apply them, no matter what size your business is. It’s exceptional - and I believe it will become a “must-have” book for years to come!
January 18th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
The Celebrity Experience is a great book! I’m nearly done reading it and, even though I have a successful dog training business that is very customer-oriented, I picked up several wonderful and exciting new ideas about customer service I intend to start using right NOW! Many of Donna’s suggestions can be implemented with little or no financial commitment and still make a really BIG impact. Every business person should read this book.
January 18th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
This sounds like a win-win for everyone. I can’t wait to get my copy of The Celebrity Experience! I want to know the secrets and how my business can benefit. Kudos to Donna Cutting for authoring her expertise tips and knowledge with the world.
January 21st, 2008 at 4:56 am
It’s not very difficult to see which companies are willing to lay out the red carpet and which don’t. Those who honestly do want to treat their customers and even employees as celebrities can expect a very positive payback in time. As long as the company is sincere with its efforts, I think things will turn out well.
January 21st, 2008 at 10:09 am
What an amazing book! A refreshing approach to customer service (and much needed!) I can’t think of any type of business that wouldn’t benefit by using the concepts in this book. If your business has any type of customer, this book is essential!
January 22nd, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Congrats, Donna
The interview was very nicely done. Donna performed at my job and I had the chance to witness her powerful performance. I highly recommend that you purchase her book, because it will provide you and your business with a life changing experience.
January 23rd, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Thank you to everyone above. I’m so glad that you are enjoying The Celebrity Experience - and I appreciate your comments.
Warmly,
Donna Cutting