Try It Local goes for the win-win-win relationship

July 12, 2010 – 10:58 am
Member Minded, a company that I invested in last year, has launched a new product that I'm really excited about: Try It Local matches local retailers to local customers online with a new awesome deal, every day.  Big discounts give consumers a great deal and give local businesses a chance to get new customers to walk in the door for the first time. For example, today's deal is a one-hour massage for $30....normally $65.  The Highlands Center for Therapeutic Massage will probably get more than 50 people to come in and experience their excellence....that's 50 people that might not have even heard of them prior to today's deal.   Even if they are just breaking even on the revenue they get from the deal....or hell...even if they're losing $10 per deal-seeker.....THAT is a marketing strategy that every small business should be interested in. Tell me what other promotion would get people walking in the ...

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Best economic analysis of the month….

July 1, 2010 – 12:09 pm
I love it when people just tell it straight.  I respect people who say what they mean and mean what they say.   It's just so refreshing in a politically correct world where everyone says a lot without saying anything... I hope he's wrong but I fear he's right.

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Bezos on working backwards from the customer

June 30, 2010 – 9:18 am
Was reading Bezos (one of my entrepreneurial heros) interview and the following quote really stuck out at me: Bezos: I would hope people would say that Amazon is earth's most customer-centric company, and that we work backwards from customers.  Many companies sort of look at what their skills are and they work forward from their skills. They say this is what we're good at, and this is what we'll do. It's a very different approach from saying here is what our customers need, and we will learn whatever skills we need. He nailed it.  Keeping your focus on the customer is one of the hardest parts of running a company. Instead of asking "what am I great at?".....try "what do people want, and how do I get great at that?" Win.

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“Social marketing” zzzzzzzzz

June 29, 2010 – 11:45 am
You're not going to sell much to your twitter friends.  Or your facebook friends. Spending all day "getting followers" (which means following people you don't want to read just so they'll follow you back) is......drumroll.....a WASTE OF TIME. Twitter and facebook is the freeloader zone.  They don't want to pay you for anything.  Good for celebs, not a big deal for business. The barrier to entry (getting on twitter and getting followers) is so low that it's almost a given that there is little $$ on the other side. Your focus has to be on creating real relationships.   Social tools can help you do that if you use them right. But please, stop the follow spam and billy mays twittering.  We are NOT buying. Win.

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The 2nd question in every deal: What motivates him?

June 28, 2010 – 11:36 am
Instead of walking a mile in another man's shoes, you should walk a mile with his wallet and bills, ambitions and frustrations, failures and wins. At the beginning of every "deal" is an opportunity to determine two things: 1.  What is it that I really want out of this deal? 2.  What is it that HE really wants out of this deal? Once you get there, it's a lot easier to figure out a way to make both happen. Too many times, we only think about the first, what we want.  Then, we'll go about the process of trying to obtain it while ASSuming that the other side is motivated by the same things we are.  A double-whammy that even Peter Tomarken doesn't see coming. Of course, for most deals, the answer on one side is money.  It's the pure trade that allows the recipient to turn around and use it to get what he wants, ...

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My approach to BP oil spill….

June 24, 2010 – 2:25 pm
It's obvious that we've gotten what we asked for in DC.  Zero executive experience, zero business experience....and it SHOWS.  Holy hell does it show. Anyway, here is what I would have done (and still would) as President to "plug the damn hole": 1.  Set up a $2.5 BILLION prize fund (ask BP to fund it and enjoy the positive PR) for the successful plugging of the hole and a stop to the oil leaking. 2.  Invite entrepreneurs, corporations and other countries to participate in the contest, with the $2.5b as a guaranteed prize. 3.  Setup 25 one-week window periods for contestants to have full access to the well and to attempt their fix. 4.  Auction off the one-week window periods.  Highest bidder gets the window and must pay up front.  If you get week 24 and someone else has already plugged the hole in week 16, you don't get your money back...that's part of the ...

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Three key features of gold as insurance…

June 6, 2010 – 7:30 pm
Fred wrote about how he likes owning producing real-estate as a hedge against a real financial disaster, but isn't a fan of gold. Portability, defensibility and anonymity are three points Fred is missing. 1. If shit hits the fan, I can put $1m worth of gold into a suitcase. I can't do that with an apartment building. 2. I can defend my own gold with my own gun. If the aggressor is another citizen or a foreign government, my government will defend my property rights on the apartment building. But if the aggressor is my government, or my government is neutered/ineffective, I really have no way of effectively defending anything that isn't small and portable. 3. It's much easier to "nationalize" land and real estate than gold (or tax them heavily in order to buy the votes of the ...

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Revenues first, profits later

June 3, 2010 – 10:28 am
Nine years ago I thought my company was more valuable than Amazon because my company made a profit and Amazon did not---nor did it look likely to anytime soon.  (OK I didn't really but I kinda did, if you know what I mean.) I was an idiot.  Don't be like I was.  Don't be like the fools who are lampooning Twitter because it's not profitable enough.  They're idiots too. Profitability is nice because it means you aren't in danger of going under.  Obviously, profitability is very important and ultimately it's what puts coin into your pocket as a business owner.  But it's not the end-all you might think it is. Revenues are (more often than not) more important to early stage companies.  Money coming into the company indicates that you are producing value for others.  It allows you to spend money on growth and development.  It gives you options.  It gives you the ...

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Walls of win

June 2, 2010 – 11:33 am
The walls and obstacles you face should be met with gratitude and excitement. Once crossed, these will be the same walls that keep others out. They will define your greatness. Enjoy them. Win.

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Forget “social media”….you need a SOCIAL CORE

May 12, 2010 – 2:39 pm
Social media is associated with some really stupid people selling some really stupid advice.  They'll be back to bar tending in no time....they are of no concern to us. What is of concern is how to use the social TOOLS to enhance our businesses.   I reject the term "social media" because I think it encourages everything that is wrong with the way people typically approach it. You see, it's NOT about "brand building".  It's not about using twitter or using facebook to gain attention for your company.  At this point, you're pretty much just spamming if you're looking at things that way.   Those typical "social media" methods are really just communication tactics of an old strategy book.  Instead of a PR, blog it and twitter it.  Someone complains about your company on twitter, monitor it and respond just like everyone used to do with magazine articles, letters to the editor, ...

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