top 20 trends in conscious business for 2015

www.MyCreativeCatalyst.com 1

Top 20 Trends

In

Conscious

Business

For 2015

Lynn Scheurell


The Point

One of my personal gifts is the ability to synthesize a lot of information very

quickly. I watch for patterns and make lateral connections between seemingly

eclectic input. For me, it’s fun and, quite often, I see what’s coming on the

horizon. In business, that can be quite an advantage as entrepreneurs can use

this information to update their marketing approach, appeal to newly emerging

target markets and connect their work to what’s relevant and meaningful now.

Following are what I’ve found and surmised to be trends, predictions and

emerging opportunities that you might want to position for and take advantage

of in to benefit your conscious business the coming months. They’re listed in

alphabetical order rather than a particular sequence of thought.

May this inspire you to go further in new ways with your business in 2015.


Trend #1: Betapreneurship

Try your hand at entrepreneuring without expectation of outcomes. Figure it

out through trial and error with a hit or miss approach.

It is disruptive innovation, shaking up the status quo, with no dependence

on profit until the concept is proven.

This is entrepreneuring ‘on the side’ where failing forward faster wins.


Trend #2: Collaborative / Sharing Culture

The emphasis used to be about ownership but it’s now about access as a result of technical

sharing capabilities, mobility, co-working spaces and affinity networks.

Online, netiquette is a rising need / specialization to teach people how to play nice together.

It is now expected that cultural permission be given before you market your business to particular

communities (sometimes it’s a particular day of the week or through a particular discussion

thread).

That being said, personal data is currency as your profile can be used for commercial gain and

(re)targeting, so discretion is vital as to what you share and ‘whitewalling’ (deleting information off

one’s social media profile or wall) is becoming more common. So as collaborative as it is, people

still want to honor their privacy and expect you to revere it.

Lastly, mobile image sharing is on the rise – if you don’t know how to get your ‘memes’ together and on a great image, your brand will suffer a lack of visibility and get lost in the virtual dust.


Trend #3: “Deep Learning”

People want to go deep when they commit to a learning experience. This is

showing up in virtual reality / ‘second life’-type games and structured

experiential self-discovery programs.

And yet, armchair exploration is a factor where people depend on virtual

tours, reality shows and online communities as a way to get experience

without actually physically doing it.

Remember that learners are in charge of marketplace conversations and

they are demanding innovative thinking to get their approach. If you can’t

show them something they don’t already know or can’t find somewhere

else, forgeddaboudit.


Trend #4: Desire For Self-Service / Self-Empowering Consumption

People want to be as self-sufficient and independent as possible, even when consuming

products. Modularity (with ‘chunks’ of information or product that can be easily moved) allows

extreme customization on the fly. Website plugins provide customized greetings for each user.

Self-tracking information and feedback loops help customers know where they are in the

learning cycle (like, through wearable technology in workouts and built-in intelligence options like

checklists, and drip content systems to prevent episodic binging). Episodic binging is coming to

the forefront, which is why television shows are doing 3-night sprints vs. a season’s worth of

episodes.

“Fogging” is the new ‘cloud’, as data is moved off the cloud to live on the edge of networks.

The Maker Movement is going mainstream, where ‘life hackers’ cobble the best parts of multiple

worlds together (like, temporary tiny houses that can move with you, running an empire from a

laptop in airports, etc.). One size definitely no longer fits all.

Vending machines have upgraded and are making a comeback (see Best Buy in airport

machines now) so consider how you can present your material in a ‘push-this-button’ mindset.


Trend #5: Emerging Specializations

The new economy is spawning new celebrities and specializations and, with

them, new specialists.

Meme agents help self-publishers, producers of intellectual property and

users-as-media types who enjoy a new level of fame to break into

mainstream media (and detecting the next new new rising stars).

Social Bizologists help companies get networked on social platforms for

new visibility with potentially new audiences.

Moodgeisters are people who use technology to read the emotions of

markets to help companies manage, visualize and new emotionally-

sensitive products and even manipulate sales.

It’s been said that half the jobs of 2025 don’t exist as of today; these are a

few examples.


Trend #6: Epi-genetics-enventalism

This isn’t really a word – I just made it up to describe the act of looking at

the connections between DNA and environment, health in the gut and the

brain, going green in homes and in body (living an alkaline lifestyle).

We are the world around us, our body is dictated by our brain which is

connected to nature and, really, we’re just one big ball of connected green

goo on a networked blue marble flying through space and time.

Oh – and if you have too much unnecessary (seemingly wasteful)

packaging, appear to dishonor Mother Earth or get lazy about monitoring

your carbon footprint, it will be noticed and a black smudge will appear on

your virtual report card.


Trend #7: Instantaneous Curated And Personalized Info

The conversation never stops and our culture is always on so people need a way to sort out only the ‘best’

data for them to consume.

With online and off-line worlds merging (for example, retail ‘beacons’ seek customers’ via their smart phones

to push ads at them while in stores), people are overwhelmed with choices and inundated with info. They

have diverse options so their ‘conversations’ need to be tailored to pass through various selection filters;

they decide what they will consume and when.

There is no more ‘surfing the net’ these days; instead, a few keystrokes deliver what’s most relevant based

on their IP address or satellite location. (Studies show people would rather use their smartphone than ask an

in-person retail clerk a question – they get faster, more specific information without preamble.)

Thanks to digital technology and on-demand services (everything from cars to printing books to 3-D printing

complex new toys), people want what they want when they want it – your speed in delivering your

(convenient) solution to them (the way they want it) matters.

Your job as a marketer now is to connect for engagement rather than collect their emails to build your list.

Oh – and deliver value at every touch point. If not, you’re simply out of the new game of business.


Trend #8: JOMO

YOLO used to rule (You Only Live Once). Then it was FOMO (Fear Of Missing

Out). Now it’s JOMO (Joy Of Missing Out).

In today’s fast-paced culture, there is a lot of noise, continuous invitations to do

things, streaming conversations with multiple entry points and new people and

opinions everywhere… well, it’s overwhelming. Some are calling it ‘infobesity’.

Add to that a new propensity for ‘life logging’, or continuously streaming one’s

life with little cameras via blogs and social media, and people are too full to

enjoy their lives anymore.

People are finding their bliss by saying no, by doing ‘e-tox’es and by getting

quiet. They might 'lurk‘ in community sites but, really, they’re just going to say

no.

Your business presence, brand and message needs to either be more inviting

than all that noise or your potential customers will simply tune you out.


Trend #9: Omni-Marketing Ecosystem

There is a lot of ‘buzz’ around ‘mobile marketing’ but that’s actually only a piece of the marketing puzzle. You have to be prepared

for ALL devices to access your business, 24 / 7/ 365, with all aspects of marketing working seamlessly (PR, social media, paid

ads, etc.).

Oh - and deliver ONE consistent experience to your customer regardless of where they are in the buying cycle with you. That

means that you must be authentic, cogent and in integrity. Your systems must be tight and your brand solid.

Research shows that it’s no longer 7 impressions before someone buys – people now need to ‘see’ your business 10 times before

they make a buying decision. This is the result of all the data, research and options available. Trust and loyalty are more prized

than ever before to cut through the digital noise. Remove barriers between message and action for your customers.

Mix paid media with owned media to accelerate distribution of it to your target market – and you MUST know your ideal client

avatar to be effective. Have different formats for your content with customized copy for specific channels (aka, ‘lead pages’,

custom greetings, articles vs. tweets, etc.). To boost consumption of your work, optimize reader’s thought sequences, distribute

where your people are already looking and use best practices for basic SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

By the way, it’s a good idea for you to understand basic html coding to help accelerate the process of your work being seen and

circulating.

Online marketing is no longer about building likes and followers in social media anymore but, instead, it’s about encouraging,

placing and leveraging user-generated content (UGC) on your branded site to become a social hub for your tribe. Ideally, you’ll

have a place where your customers can contribute to and shape products, as well as connect with each other.


Trend #10: Outsourcing Intimacy

True intimacy is becoming a lost art. People play out entire relationships on

social media, hire people to fill personal life roles (being a best man, sugar

daddies / babies, etc.) and technology encourages dehumanization with

emoji and potentially false profile information. Emotional intelligence, stating

and honoring boundaries, and interpersonal communications are being

tested.

Beyond that, ‘Persons of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters’ (roomies,

cohabitation, senior co-sharing apartments) adds a relatively new facet to

intimacy and doesn’t force the definition of relationships in traditional terms.

People may get further away from being able to have intimate relationships

as distractions, shields, defense mechanisms, posturing and lack of

accountability take their toll.

And yet, people need such connection, which may create opportunities in

your business.


Trend #11: Parallel Storytelling

Movies, games and television shows now show two (or more) simultaneous

stories either side-by-side or layered so viewers can toggle between them.

(For example, a woman gets in a cab and looks back, with the side-by-side

view of the man who walks away and the audience sees both points of

view.)

No longer are plotlines linear – they bend time and space and, especially,

point of view.

Use this new multi-dimensional perceptivity to benefit your business by

telling stories that leverage your tribe, connections and network in such a

way as to not only support your business exchanges, but also to create

value and well-being simultaneously.

(Did I say it would be easy…?)


Trend #12: Personality

Brands are characterized by the personalities of the founder and/or owner(s). You are a brand. Your

personality must be reflected throughout your business. If you like to have fun, show it! If you are

deep and philosophical, create the container that lets you be that as a path to delivering value to

your market.

Use ‘human speak’ – be real, authentic and yourself. Humor that is both self-reflective and self-

deprecating lets your audience in to your world. A clever laugh or vulnerable silliness builds trust

and loyalty.

One caveat – ‘defictionalization’ is a trend that humanizes fiction into reality (gaming and cartoon

characters get tv shows, cosplay becomes fashion trends, fairy tale living based on movie sets

becomes décor choices), which may or may not work to build your particular brand. (You can get

your own bobblehead dolls on Amazon now…?)

Maintain your edge, be relevant, keep it real.

Oh – and you are a publisher. Everything you use in your marketing, your website, your work

becomes intellectual property that can be repurposed – make sure it all has your unique voice.


Trend #13: Petite Data

Big data is important but now there’s a new emphasis on ‘petite data’ –

things like intuition, nuance recognition and interpretation, sophisticated

subtlety.

The focus is on quality over quantity (which is the world of big data).

Inspired action is more meaningful than a ‘big box’ system.

You have to know your ideal clients to be able to relate on this level through

your business.


Trend #14: Review Economy

Consumers have a voice through online reviews. If you aren’t getting

feedback directly, you may find it online so brand and reputation

management are emerging specializations based on entrepreneurial need.

Whether it’s Youtube unboxing videos, Yelp being where you find what to

avoid or humorous Amazon book and product reviews, the review economy

can affect your business.

In fact, most of the sales process and research have been done before a

potential client actually reaches out to you personally to talk about what you

do!

Have radical openness, transparency and congruency through your work to

keep it simple.

And if something happens and someone isn’t happy, address it rather than

let it sit – over time, such things take on a life of their own.


Trend #15: Simplexity

As business (and life) speed up, more options become available and technology ‘helps’

us be more efficient, we mere humans need a way to make sense of all that complexity.

Thoughtful simplicity that descrambles thought forms, traces process or informs at a

glance saves time, energy and resources in the long run. Simplexity visualizes,

imagines, develops and then executes the overview of the complex into clarity. For

example, infographics sort out details, convey chunks of intelligence, are attractive and

easily shareable.

Also, the process IS the deliverable now so pulling back the proverbial curtain, meeting

people where they are and adding an element of entertainment creates a powerful

learning environment with adult learners.

Lastly, ‘althleisure’ (athletic clothes that transition from the gym to the office) makes life

and business simpler (and more casual). You can have complicated concepts and great

complexity in your systems – you just need to use a little simplexity to talk about it.


Trend #16: Structured Serendipity

It may seem like opposing concepts but building ‘serendipitous’ events,

products or information into your customer’s experience will keep them

coming back.

This can be challenging since the customer experience is no longer AND

because they are in control of how and when they consume products.

However, by adding elements of the unexpected, offering pleasant surprises

and giving bonuses, customers perceive that you are over-delivering in

delightful ways.

Who doesn’t like a good / happy / valuable surprise?


Trend #17: Timely Timelessness

Culturally, people have suffered a lot of loss with events like downsizing, lay-offs, divorce, overwork

or a cut-back in hours. To compensate, they are returning to good old-fashioned value (and values).

You can see this with the trend in urban fowl, Hunter boots and community gardens – things and

ways of life that are old stand-bys that can be hip again. History matters here – the key is the

timeless quality of the product or service, along with the authenticity of it. Twinings Tea nails it with

their tagline: “Your 15-minute break 300 years in the making.”

Timelessness is one value – timeliness is another. Even if your product is timeless, it must be

delivered in a timely way or your customer will walk.

Also, given the rate of change, there’s also a propensity toward early-onset nostalgia, where the time

people take to get nostalgic for not-so-distant past is compressing. There is a return to fashion from

the 80’s as ‘vintage’ – which is just barely one generation ago!

One more aspect of timelessness – people are valuing the hand-touched aspect of produced goods

and so expect (and even want) a little imperfection. It’s called ‘malfatto’, where something is

designed to have imperfection so it’s not sterile and seems hand-made. (Anyone hearing the word ‘onesie’ to meet this trend head-on?)


Trend #18: Values-Based

Customers want their business to have greater meaning than a mere transaction. People want to know

company values and be aligned with them; in fact, they’re willing to pay more money if they know a

percentage of the transaction is going to a cause or will do social good.

Generally speaking, people are more purposeful in their lives so if you look like you’re not it’s a turn-off

for their business. Your target market will watch to see your content, so make sure it’s contextual and

shareable. Build in relevant messaging for each end user’s journey with you that reflects the language,

values and greater ‘why’ of your relationship.

‘Fanthropology’ is a word coined to describe those customers who want to be inspired and be part of

something bigger through doing business with you.

And, because there is new focus on values meeting professional careers, people are ‘kickstarting’ (or

sharing their dreams and values with the goal of raising donations) to fund a new way of making a

living. In my world, I call this concept the ‘sacred exchange’, where you (the entrepreneur) packages

your value in a way that others can easily understand and consume and are rewarded well for it

through your customer. In other words, the Universe supports you through your client while your client

invests in themselves through you – the transaction that actually occurs is far greater than an exchange of money.


Trend #19: You Are A Writer!

You may not know it but you are a writer. ALL business owners are marketers and marketers are writers. The words you use are your currency in the market because they tell who you are and what you’re about through your business. Good writing is concise and profound, like an iceberg – what you see is concise but has great depth below the surface. With the constraints of social media, it’s even more important to be succinct. Remember that your sound bites grow legs online – make them worth sharing. Lastly, ‘pitching’ and ‘preaching’ is not recommended; instead, it’s all about exciting and informing your ideal clients through your words.


Trend #20: Help More People By Becoming More Of Yourself

The ‘trend’ to help others has never been bigger nor more compelling. We now know that it is by giving that we receive, that getting makes a living but giving makes a life, that there is always someone who needs something you have and can offer. Your business can grow only as fast as you do. By investing in your own self-development, you give yourself the gift of being more present for others. And your presence with more people is what changes the world. The greats all - without exception - would tell you to grow yourself so you can be of greater influence in the world. If you’re not investing in your own growth in some way, you’re not only holding yourself back but the world around you. The fastest way to help more people is to become more of yourself. And, while you can read books, take courses and attend seminars, the fastest way to become more of yourself is to work with a mentor. It’s the decision that can change everything for the rest of your life – so make it happen this year.


About Lynn Scheurell

Long story short, I took the scenic route to success. It took me YEARS to sort out and

package my talent. Along the way, I added some really important skills that have benefitted

not just me but my (then future) clients as well. In the end, if I would have had a now-me for

then-me, I would have had a very different (and, frankly, likely more lucrative) experience.

As a result, I am devoted to accelerating success through my wisdom and hard-earned

experience for and with other inspired world changers so they can reach their potential, help

more people and change the world more easily through their work.

My ideal clients:

• Want to improve other people’s lives through what they know.

• Are willing to put in the effort to change and make their work / presence better.

• Are focused on triple bottom line success (clients / theirs / revenues) rather than just profit

– because it’s about value, not money.

If this has inspired you to take new action in your business, I’d love to connect with you… :+)

www.MyCreativeCatalyst.com

http://www.mycreativecatalyst.com/


Consider This Your Catalyst

There are people who need you to step into your power, into greater visibility and share what you

have to teach. Even now, your people are waiting for you.

The combination of steps you need to take to uplevel yourself and your business will be unique in

terms of timing and duration; however, they are universal in outcome.

• Know and value what you know.

• Package it so others can consume (and pay you!) for it.

• Be congruent in how you live your life (values, beliefs, thoughts, words and behaviors).

• Express gratitude with transparency.

• Be happy.

If you need to sort yourself and your business, I encourage you to find someone to help guide you.

Whether it’s me or someone else, the quickest way to help others is to work with someone who can

show you what you don’t know and help you connect the dots to real-world results. In the end,

working with an experienced mentor will save you time, energy and resources because you won’t

wander around looking for answers.

In case you’re interested in exploring further, some of my programs are:

www.TheZaggernautProgram.com www.ThoughtLeaderThinking.com www.CatalyzeYourCopy.com

http://www.thezaggernautprogram.com/

http://www.thoughtleaderthinking.com/

http://www.catalyzeyourcopy.com/


Info

About the Author

Lynn Scheurell is a business Catalyst who teaches

wisdom teachers how to monetize their knowledge

and accelerate their success in business.

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About Creative Catalyst

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