by Kristin Swartzlander | Nov 13, 2014 | Mindset, Thoughts and Rants
About a month ago, my husband Carl and I were able to take our first ever week-long vacation. It was well-timed… I had just finished up work on the super-successful Dirt Classic Presented by Kasey Kahne and he was capping off a successful racing season, too. We finally had time to sit back, relax and talk about the future for the first time since the previous winter. See, last year we did something a little bit different – instead of making New Year’s resolutions, we sat down and set our goals and intentions for 2014. We picked a few areas of our life that we wanted to improve on – everything from t-shirt sales and wins to blog subscribers and income levels – and wrote out really specific goals. Thirteen of them, to be exact. I know, I know. I’ve done this a million times before, too. And what did I do? Stuck that little piece of paper God-knows-where and rarely, if ever, thought about it again. This time was different, though. Our goals were specific and measurable, with numbers and a timeframe. The other thing that changed? I hung this sheet up on the wall in my office so I could see it regularly. (Which also means that every time I got a harebrained idea, Carl could point to that wall and ask if it would get us closer to one of those goals. Eek.) One thing that Carl had personally been disappointed about was that he hadn’t hit his goal for number of wins this season. He wanted to double the previous year’s win count of four to eight...
by Kristin Swartzlander | Oct 23, 2014 | Mindset, Motorsports Marketing for Tracks, Teams and Businesses, Thoughts and Rants
(Did you get my Katy Perry reference there? That song has been in my head all morning and now it’s probably in yours, too. You’re welcome.) Four years ago this week, I left my last ‘corporate’ job at a downtown advertising agency. In some ways, that seems just as scary today as it was then. But it was also exciting and exhilarating, also the same as it is now. I took a risk, and it paid off. I didn’t have a showstopper exit that I can wax on about. It was like most – I delayed the decision until I couldn’t ignore the voice in my head that said I was ready to take the leap. I put in my notice, wavered, agreed to help the company transition my accounts, and was woken by 4am phone calls from my boss asking me to reconsider. We, the company and I, held on to our safety nets for a long time. But at some point, not quitting became riskier than leaving my cushy salary and benefits, the security of a corporate ladder and a solid paycheck. And that’s when I pulled the plug. Many ‘success’ stories we hear go like this: I had a vision, I quit, I worked hard and I got a big break or built a company and now I’m a success. In racing, you often hear: I got my first go-kart, won a bunch of races, moved up to sprint cars, got a ride and now I’m a success. But it’s what’s in between the lines, the time that you stayed at the corporate job after you...
by Kristin Swartzlander | Oct 3, 2014 | Mindset
Note: Make sure you look for information at the bottom of the post on the giveaway! I’m not sure if it’s reading that makes me feel like a vacation or a vacation that makes me feel like reading. Right now, I’m on vacation (for longer than a weekend – the first time since 2008!) and it never fails – when I’m not working directly on my business, I get more ideas and inspiration than probably the entire rest of the year. One of the reasons? I read and listen to almost anything I can get my hands on. Some of it is business-related, some of it racing – I read a great article on Cory Kruseman in Sprint Car and Midget and another on this guy named Carl Bowser in Flat Out Magazine on the plane yesterday– and some of it just for fun. This summer, I was sent a copy of Creativity for Sale by author Jason SufrApp and I was able to take it in over the course of a few long tows to Fremont Speedway and Wayne County Speedway. If you’ve got a crazy business idea like, oh I don’t know, racing, this is practically a manual for you. Jason talks about building his own million-dollar business by wearing t-shirts and other silly things at iwearyourshirt.com. The book is part his own story – having a crazy idea and figuring out how to make money at it – and part a manual for others to do the same. As the winter months approach, you might be looking for new material to dig into to inspire your...
by Kristin Swartzlander | Sep 11, 2014 | Mindset, Motorsports Marketing for Tracks, Teams and Businesses, Thoughts and Rants
Over the weekend, Carl and I were blessed to be able to take part in the annual Children’s Hospital Heart-to-Heart Picnic hosted by Turner Dairy Farms. I had an inkling that I’d be inspired by the families affected by heart conditions and their caregivers, but I got a bit of inspiration in an unexpected place. Some of the volunteers included members of the football team at Seton Hill University. Many of them had never seen a racecar before in person, but some knew about sprint cars because of the recent media coverage. When there was a break in the action they came over to ask Carl questions. They were respectful and genuinely curious. One player asked if Carl was a professional. When Carl said no, he asked if that was what he was working towards. Carl said yes. His reaction really caught me off guard. He broke into a big smile, nodded and said, “Keep grindin, man.” He probably didn’t think much of it, but I was so touched by this little nod of encouragement for someone else’s dream. It’s easy to become jaded when you’re consistently talking about racing with other racing people. At first, it seems like everyone is in it together. And we really are. But when you get a taste of success, you may get a reminder that the people you’re talking to are often the same people you’re competing with. Some of them react to ambition and success negatively, as if there’s only so much to go around. “You’re so lucky.” “Must be nice.” “You want to ____? Good luck with that.” “Aren’t you happy with what you...
by Kristin Swartzlander | Sep 5, 2014 | Mindset, Motorsports Marketing for Tracks, Teams and Businesses, Thoughts and Rants
How do you know if you’re the best racing wife ever? Well, you obviously look at the racing-wife-scale and see where you match up. Oh wait. There isn’t one. (Unless we live together. In that case, even the dog knows where I rank.) Unlike marriage, there are ways in racing, and in business, to know if you’re improving. You might be winning more races. Or finishing more races. Or feeling more comfortable in the car – whatever’s important to you. But how do you know for sure? You measure. Because you can’t improve what you don’t measure. Think that’s baloney? The entire basis of our sport rests on who crosses the finish line first, then second, and so on. Our performance is measured every single night. It’s up to us if it’s measured that one time in that one way or many times over in other ways. So why can’t you improve without measurement? Anyone who wants to achieve a certain goal (hint: setting a measurable goal is the real first step) has to know where they’re starting from. And they have to know what constitutes improvement towards that goal and what factors actually matter. And that last point is the real key: you have to focus on measuring and improving what actually affects the overall goal. For example: if you’re looking to be more attractive to sponsors active on Twitter, keeping daily track of your Instagram followers isn’t a helpful act of measurement. You can improve that number without making progress on your overall goal. Measuring Twitter followers is the first step. In racing, there are countless things...
by Kristin Swartzlander | Jul 31, 2014 | Media and Public Relations, Mindset, Motorsports Marketing for Tracks, Teams and Businesses, Racing Social Media, Racing Sponsorship
Last night, we were fortunate enough to be able to attend the Lou Blaney Memorial at Sharon Speedway. Having grown up watching Lou and my uncle, Brian Swartzlander, go toe-to-toe for years in our local modified division, I’m happy to be able to be a part of an event that honors him every year. It’s probably not surprising that Lou’s hotshoe sons, Dave and Dale, were able to dominate the field and earned first and second place honors, respectively. Dave started in the third position and it was clear from early on that he had the car to beat. From the moment Dave took the green, and then the lead on lap six, I noticed most fans with their eyes darting back and forth between the brothers’ cars, watching to see what line they would take and what potential struggle lapped traffic would give them. Dale made his way into second place on lap 15 but didn’t give his teammate a challenge. That didn’t stop most from keeping their eyes glued to the pair, following the action and giving a rousing ovation at the finish. Watching that race, and watching the fans’ reaction, it was really clear how much of the excitement of racing is tied to a story. Yes, Dave’s impressive performance would have been entertaining whether or not he was Lou’s son. But the added hook of racing against his brother to win the race held in his father’s honor – for the first time, no less – was enough to keep everyone on their edge of their seats. Talking to drivers and crew in the pits...
Connect!