How many of you use Canva? I do and it is an essential component of my business. Canva and I have a great relationship, and I have become a very proficient Canva user since early 2015, when I first discovered it and joined its community. I quickly started paying for my account because I believe in paying for software and services that I use in my business, even when there is a free option. I have worked in the tech industry for many years and I know how much time, effort, and money it takes to run the back end systems.

When I started with Canva, the user fee was $12.95 a month, a bargain. I then graduated to an annual subscription for $119.95, still a bargain.

I just renewed my professional Canva subscription last month for the same price, $119.95, which I consider to be a bargain. Even after 10 years my membership cost is less than the cost of high end design software that I don’t want to have to spend years learning. Canva offers a significantly less technically and financially painful alternative.

I had no idea that Canva was raising its annual pricing for the professional account holders until I read about it a few days ago. Raising its prices is an understatement. Canva was quadrupling the cost of the annual membership from $119.95 to $500.

I quickly checked my billing to make sure that I had not paid that much for my recent renewal and I had not so I am not sure when they were going to implement this change for its long time users, who should be grandfathered in to any price increase. Especially people like me, who have been loyal, paying customers for more than 10 years.

Of course Canva received considerable backlash from its customer base about this ill-conceived price increase and rightly so. It is a sign of how out of touch Canva has gotten with its user base. That happens when a startup becomes a major industry player, going from no revenues to over $2.5 billion in annual revenues with more than 170 million active monthly users. A few months ago Canva ran a promotion that showcased its image count and celebrated one billion images. Those are very impressive numbers.

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copyright (2004-2024) by Jennifer Hoffman. All US and international rights reserved.

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There is a new fad in online marketing and it is not one I like or think is very beneficial. In fact, I really dislike it and I avoid anyone who uses it because I think it’s unprofessional, rude, lacks class, and is very objectionable.

It’s the use of profanity in marketing.

Now I am very old school when it comes to business. I started my career in the late 1970s at a time when we went to the office every day and dressed for business. For women that meant dresses or suits, stockings, and heels. Men always wore suits and ties and a white shirt. I worked in law firms where the dress code was very strict because clients were always visiting the office. I remember when they first introduced ‘casual Fridays’ and we were so excited even though that meant what would be called formal business casual today.

If you used the kind of language in a professional setting that people use today you would be fired and it would be justified. Profanity has no place in the workplace and it should not be used in business settings, or online either. I think that level of professionalism is something we need to return to. And I will tell you why in this podcast.

I do not swear and I never have. It is just not part of my vocabulary. Maybe it’s because I met a woman when I was about 14 years old, the mother of one of my brother’s friends, who swore like a sailor. I had never heard language like that and she saw that it made me very uncomfortable.

She apologized for her language and told me that people who swore and used profanity didn’t have a very big vocabulary and they had to use swearing to fill in the gaps. Although she was probably joking I never forgot what she said and I vowed that I would never swear. I also have a very big vocabulary in 4 languages.

Should you use profanity in your marketing? Is it ok to say that something is good AF? Should you spell out sh*t and then follow it with a little emoji? Not if you want my business. And I do not think I am alone.

The rise in profanity has followed a rise in the lack of integrity in business marketing, from people who overstate income claims to those who scam their followers with outrageous claims of income potential from their products and programs, who market with sleaze and take your money with ease, the internet is a scammer’s paradise.

It is getting better with time and I have been online since the late 1990s and have seen the wild west days. But the use of profanity is one area where we could use some improvement.

Why is this an important issue for me? As I said I have an extensive background in different areas, law, technology, finance, as well as multiple business degrees. I have been in many professional settings, including the board rooms of some of the world’s top companies and biggest startups, and I have never heard profanity used in the office in any of those environments.

Read the rest of the article on the blog at gpsbusinessacademy.com

copyright (2004-2024) by Jennifer Hoffman. All US and international rights reserved.

Copy by Jennifer Hoffman

Narration by Jennifer Hoffman

Artwork by Jennifer Hoffman

No part of this work may be shared in any form whatsoever and on any platform whatsoever without the express written permission of the copyright holder. Failure to obtain permission and share this content or illegally appropriate this content for business or personal use will be subject to civil and criminal prosecution seeking actual and punitive damages and restitution. We have ZERO TOLERANCE for content theft, copyright infringement, and theft of intellectual property.

In the 21 years that I have been in business I have never talked about how much money I make. I don’t think it is appropriate and to be honest, it adds no value to my credibility, my customers, or to what I do. As a privately held company I do not have to file public documents every year and as a business and legal professional I know that these kinds of claims must be done with care and with plenty of documentation so they are verifiable. Knowing this, I have been rather annoyed by the people who claim to have ‘6 and 7 figure’ businesses and making other income claims lately, which are frankly rather unbelievable and very unprofessional.

The problem with income claims is that they are generally greatly overstated and they do not accurately reflect the person’s financial standing. They are also no substitute for professional credentials, expertise, experience, or authority.

I will give you a few examples of bad income claims in this podcast because if you are going to be choosing a coach or mentor based on their income claims, thinking that you can replicate them in your life and business, you should probably know the truth and be prepared to ask relevant questions. Or better yet, find someone who has actual business credentials.

The other problem with income claims is that they can get you in trouble with the Federal Trade Commission in the US, the government agency that oversees and regulates truth in advertising laws. Making an income claim is a form of advertising and all businesses, regardless of size, have to follow these laws. If you are investigated by the FTC for false advertising, which they can do if they feel your advertising is fraudulent or misleading, the penalties involve hefty fines and possibly jail time, as well as financial restitution to anyone they feel you have defrauded or misled by your claims. Do you see why this is important?

Read the rest of this article in the blog at gpsbusinessacademy.com

copyright (2004-2024) by Jennifer Hoffman. All US and international rights reserved.

Copy by Jennifer Hoffman

Narration by Jennifer Hoffman

Artwork by Jennifer Hoffman

No part of this work may be shared in any form whatsoever and on any platform whatsoever without the express written permission of the copyright holder. Failure to obtain permission and share this content or illegally appropriate this content for business or personal use will be subject to civil and criminal prosecution seeking actual and punitive damages and restitution. We have ZERO TOLERANCE for content theft, copyright infringement, and theft of intellectual property.