Atom Kahn, Erotic Glass Artisan
Looking for a way to stay warm and well connected as the snow piles up here in Seattle? Join glass artist Atom Kahn at his studio in West Seattle next Monday for a glass of wine, and an opportunity to watch him do what he does best: make spectacular erotic art out of molten glass. I got an opportunity to see some of his work first hand at an event recently, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it’s made. Not to mention he’ll be offering a 20 percent discount for purchases made during the event…
Q: Tell us a bit about yourself and how you become a glass artist.
I was raised in Southern California in the 70’s in a, shall we say “Liberal” family with both my mom and dad being into theatre and art, so I had the opportunity to take art classes at a very early age. My first form of erotic art was actually in 2nd grade with an assignment for a mobile made from magazine pictures. Well…..my dad half jokingly gave me one of his Playboy’s (something I never had to sneak to look at) and I proceeded to finish my project. So after the big “Critique” in the principal’s office the next day, with my parents…..erotica was my path! I have used many media in my art but working with molten glass is a unique experience. It works well for erotic forms because in its natural state, it will always have bulbous, curvy shapes!
Q: It feels just wrong to call your hand-crafted creations “sex toys.” I’d go with “art you can play with.” Where did the inspiration to make these come from?
Although its very hard and often associated with being cold and fragile, and upon breaking, can become quite sharp and scary. In the 13 years I have been working with hot glass, I have changed that whole perspective and seen its true state and felt the soft curves and strong forms that it can be. In my larger sculptural pieces, I create blown forms that have big, round areas often contouring to narrow rippling areas….much like the human body. With such a high gloss, oils and anything slippery have a wonderful, sensual feeling on the glass surface next to your skin. And with the ability to make these very organic, embracing shapes…it was just a natural progression!
Q: How many hours of work goes into making each one?
Each toy takes an average of about 45 minutes to create and that is the reason that each one is so unique. I do make some of the designs as a regular shape because people really enjoy them, but each one will be a little bit different on the curvy details. Making glass objects in this manner is the oldest form of glassmaking known to man. Each toy starts as a molten ball of pure crystal clear glass that is drawn from a furnace that is like a small bathtub full of liquid glass, idling around 2150 degrees fahrenheit. The colors are applied at this point in various techniques, constantly returning the ball to the furnace to reheat it and keep it liquidity. This is why it is such a process: if the glass is allowed to cool too quickly, it will literally shatter to pieces in just a few minutes. Some of the forms, after a full day in the cooling chamber, go on to be worked for 30 mins to an hour on a polishing machine.
Q: You’re hosting a happy hour at your studio on Dec. 4. Will we be able to watch you creating some of these?
Yes! I will be demonstrating how the process happens and will be making toys for an upcoming show. Everyone is welcome to huddle around the fire and watch as this ball of fiery honey looking goo is transformed into a sensual piece of erotic art that just calls to you…”Pleeaase touch Me!!” Questions are always welcome too….I love to share this experience with people and even offer classes for people who want to try this amazing art form.
Q: If I wanted to buy one of these beauties for someone special at your event, how much will it cost?
They start around $75.00 and get up to $300+ for the larger, more ornate designs and I can also do custom designs for people who like something very unique. I will be offering a 20% discount during this event and that applies to the price for a class as well. I really enjoy making these erotic pieces and its great to have people collect art they can use and enjoy.
Atom’s website is located at www.atom913.com.
art business creative erotic glass blowing happy hour Seattle
0 Comments How to Construct an Irresistible Offer, Step by Step
Note: This is the first of a series of member-contributed business tips. If you are an expert and would like to contribute a post, drop a line to dan@biznik.com. Joseph is also hosting a Biznik event on this topic on Wednesday, Nov. 29.
This methodology arose from dialog with a Biznik friend, Michael Max. He’s a Biznik, a Chinese medicine doctor, and the owner of the Yong Kang Clinic in Seattle. We’re conversing about understanding Mark Joyner’s book, “The Irresistible Offer.” Joyner’s ideas can seem strange at first blush. But they can radically improve the marketing of a private practice.
Tip: Read this book! More than once. Learn the key information by heart, and take action based on what you learn.
It’s useful to focus on your offer to customers because your offer’s what fundamentally defines your service and connects you to your market. It’s the prime mover of your business.
For present purposes, any one-person service business is a private practice. The discussion about services also applies to products.
In a private practice, 95 percent of your marketing is contained in what you say about what you do. Communicate your value well, and you’ll prosper. Botch the communication, and you’ll starve. If you’re feeling hungry, fix your communication.
As you communicate, remember the fundamental purpose of marketing — to create active positive regard in your customer’s mind about your business. Marketing is all about becoming aware of what ‘your market’ thinks, influencing their collective opinion to your benefit, and motivating them to choose and buy your product or service.
Market well, and your customers sell your service to each other at no cost to you. Your first goal in marketing a private practice has 4 aspects –
1. to reach peak revenue. . .
2. sustained by word-of-mouth. . .
3. at your desired level of effort. . .
4. with enough backlog to create stability.
Make an offer that’s irresistible, then deliver the goods. This will fall in place with little additional effort. It’ll happen even if your offer is only half-decent and you deliver tenaciously.
People want to know 4 things about what you offer –
• what are you selling?
• how much does it cost?
• why should I believe you?
• what’s in it for me?
So your customers are ready to listen. Grab attention, and speak to them eloquently about all these things.
There are 3 parts to an Irresistible Offer –
1. High ROI service
2. A touchstone,
3. Believability
The Irresistible Offer is the ultimate summary statement of your professional value. It communicates all the answers people need to do business with you, in one short burst of information.
As MJ illustrates, Domino’s Pizza, Federal Express, and Columbia House all rely on the Irresistible Offer. So do many other highly successful businesses.
Sorting It Out
To begin, it’s best to ignore the viral marketing stuff in the latter part of MJ’s book. Hang with the basics of offer construction. Internet viral marketing doesn’t apply to a professional practice. You don’t want 100,000 people calling you. Professionals don’t need massive viral response, because the goal is to fill up a practice and develop a backlog. This will happen at very sub-viral levels.
However, word-of-mouth is definitely wanted. Viral marketing and WOM are similar, except that WOM happens verbally (spoken or written) from one person to another. Viral is based on web technology. Viral is for products, not services, unless you have instant unlimited service providers. Outsourcing to India comes to mind. . .
If your business provides a product, do the IO first, and then worry about the viral thing shortly afterwards.
Foundation Research
If you’re a doctor, begin by making some observations about what your happy patients are taking away from the service you offer. And what your indifferent patients are missing. And if you have any, what your dissatisfied patients are unhappy about.
If you don’t have enough patients yet to get a good sample, use any patients of your kind of medicine. Even imaginary ones, if you’re certain of what they’ll say.
If it’s not intuitively obvious, go ask them. Call them up and ask them leading, open-ended questions. Or ask them when they come in for treatment. Invite them over for tea. Just be aware it’s an overall impression you seek. Don’t get hung up on anything one patient says, either good or bad.
You’ll be amazed at what you discover by becoming intimate with your market.
Tip: Record the conversations. Recording frees you from hesitations for note-taking.
Make a list. What makes the happy ones happy? Indifferent ones indifferent? Angry ones pissed off? Make three categories – happy, indifferent, unhappy.
Yes, you DO want to talk to the 3rd group. Don’t chicken out.
Analysis
Now cruise your list. Conceptualize the commonalities. You are discovering the *benefits* of your medicine. Features will also come up. Distinguish the features from the benefits. Define and state the benefits clearly.
Save the features for later, they are useful.
The benefits are the value you deliver in your high ROI service. Now you’re getting somewhere. The value is half of it, the other half is cost. High value + low cost = high ROI. Low is a relative term. It’s the cost the patient perceives.
Tip: If you discover your perceived value is *way too low* relative to the cost, STOP! This is a wake up call. You have a fundamental problem. You can NOT make an Irresistible Offer until achieve high ROI. You must have high value or you’re toast. Because if your value is low, only fools will do business with you if they have any alternative.
Step 1 complete.
Synthesis
Now use the results of Step 1 to forge a terse statement of value your patients perceive. Make it as credible as possible. And as attractive as possible. This is your touchstone. It’s like a mantra that encapsulates what your practice is all about by conveying your medicine’s core value to the patient.
It’s a kernel of truth, like a haiku.
A lovely thing to see:
through the paper window’s hole,
the Galaxy.– Issa (1762-1826)
Tip: BTW, what does ‘Yong Kang’ mean in English? Does your brand already have a component you can use?
MJ gives the touchstones from FedEx, Domino’s, and Columbia House. Yours should be along the same lines.
Here’s one I created for a company that makes some very powerful and beneficial nutritional supplements –
“A better body. . . a better life.�?
And here’s one I’m using for my commercial writing business –
“Exceptional copy, ordinary rates, and the marketing expert’s free.�?
Step 2 complete.
Believability
This is where the features become useful. Factual details lend credence to claims.
Social — “Hi, my name is Charlie Brown. Before Michael Max treated me, I was skeptical. I was dumb, ugly, gullible, and spoke with a lisp. Girls ignored me. After 5 treatments I got a job as Brad Pitt’s double. Girls are all over me now. Go see Michael, he’ll make your day.”
Technical — “Chinese health care, acupuncture and herbology, were developed over the past 10,000 years. What works East, works West.”
Factual — “The Seattle Supersonics came out of their slump and started winning consistently after starting regular visits to Michael Max.”
Etc. — There are more options listed in MJ’s book, like recommendations from high-profile people. Know any movie stars who love your stuff?
Tip: Don’t follow the false examples above. Always tell the truth. This is the most important thing about believability.
Step 3 complete
Now you’re ready to rock and roll!
Use the touchstone + believability stuff everywhere you can.
• Post it in your clinic.
• Integrate it into your branding.
• Append it to emails.
• Use it as you tag line.
• Put it on your business cards, web site, brochure, etc.
• Make a brochure that conveys your IO and mail it to your client base.
• Post an article that features your IO to the web, linked to your site.
Now you have a powerful marketing tool. Leverage it!
Possibilities Are Endless. . .
. . . But only if you ACT!
Remember, knowing about this stuff is just in your head. It does you no good until you act on the knowledge and put it into play in the real world.
Like your medicine, you might know about it, and know it’s good, and know it’ll help someone, BUT it can’t do anything until you give it to them and they take it.
Do you have the initiative and courage to act on what you now know and believe?
You already have, or your clinic wouldn’t exist. Keep going. In addition to knowing something, you need relentless focused action to gain any benefit.
Relentless focused action is how Sam Walton created the most powerful retail chain in history. It’s how Ray Kroc took a little hamburger restaurant that worked like a Swiss watch and parleyed it into the greatest franchise of all times.
You might be able to recall their Irresistible Offers.
Share this Article! You have permission to freely copy and reproduce this article and share it with others, on condition that you keep it intact and don’t alter it in any way.
Joseph Riden is a commercial freelance writer in Seattle. I provide custom quotes on request. Call or email today for more information. Get a free hour of consultation to discuss how you could have, at a modest cost, your own Personal Publicist. No hype, I promise – just solid facts you can use. Contact joseph@jriden.com or call 714-402-3217, or visit www.jriden.com.
believability business irresistible offer marketing michael joyner word of mouth
1 CommentBarry Hurd: The best asset of any community is the talent of its members
I met Barry through a conversation in Biz Talk a few weeks ago, and that conversation led to us having coffee. Where we talked about something we’re both really excited about: social networks. Biznik is a social network for independent business people, and Barry works for a startup called Blogging Systems that provides turn-key community blog networks for the real estate industry. If that’s a topic that any of you are interested in, or if you’d just like to join us for a drink and talk about your business, Barry’s hosting a Biznik happy hour in Lake Forest Park on Thursday, November 30. But first, a bit more about Barry, from Barry.
Q: More than most people, you’ve spent a ton of time checking out social networks and trying to understand them. How’d you develop that interest?
Laughingly, I am a freak of nature. My father was a computer expert for the National Security Agency. I had a strange childhood. As a kid I played with computers under his guidance and tried to understand how they worked. That wasn’t really my niche, but as I grew up my education and skills put me in a corporate office working with online recruiting.
My computer knowledge eventually combined with my experiences in the social network of the recruiting world, and I soon discovered my love of connecting the dots between people. That led to the past ten years where I became an expert in online marketing and social networking; studying everything from banner ads to blogs- working on different projects ranging in complexity of things like my own personal journal to Monster.com.
Q: Where are you currently working, and what are you doing there?
I work with a team at BloggingSystems.com as the Director of Business Development. We have a bunch of smart minds that have created a community blogging platform that helps people form communities of almost any type. My focus is understanding our technical abilities and finding new markets that can benefit from our technology. I also help our team create new solutions for clients and build relationships with partners in other industries. It’s a great role for me; merging my personal interests as tech-geek and problem solver.
Q: How long have you been blogging yourself, and what do you blog about?
Good question. I’ve actually maintained different online journals since 1990 or so. I’ve used blogging for connecting with friends, making introductions with new people, handling projects within virtual teams, and building different communities with people around the world. Professionally I blog about industries that I see having huge benefits with the Blogging Systems platform- real estate, mortgage companies, credit unions, newspapers, and education. The list goes on and on. I’m constantly reading information on any group or industry that can benefit in nurturing an online community.
Personally I write about everything else. I am a tech geek by nature. Every now and then I find some gizmo or site that I think has an interesting feature. I also write creatively about my daily life (I’ve done list like top five things at Greenlake) and viewpoints to keep my friends up to speed on personal events. Believe it or not, I also tend to blog a lot of poetry (sometimes 2-3 pieces a day).
Q: What do you think are some interesting trends right now in the social networking space?
I think there is an amazing growth spike happening. The social networking space is at it’s infancy. We went through the 90s having commercial internet destroy a lot of the human connection we had. For lack of a better phrase, the web destabilized some of our real-world aspects of community. Technology has now developed the tools to help rebuild that lost sense of personal interaction and people are flocking to it like crazy.
In the big picture- the blog total is up to 55+ million, communities like Biznik are growing at amazing rates, and even major corporations are starting to discover how powerful virtual communities are becoming overnight. Things like cell phones and PDAs are helping to cross the barriers of web connectivity and offline geography. For me, the real exciting part of my daily effort is helping real world people and businesses merge the power of online communities into an actual geographic or professional area.
Q: You’re hosting an event on November 30th that will be about “friendly ideas for doing business online through blogging, search engine optimization, word of mouth, and buzz marketing.” What can members who attend your event expect to learn and experience?
I’m hoping that attendees will sit down and enjoy some in-depth conversation regarding how online trends are opening up really big opportunities for them. I like to share my experience and viewpoints with other people. I have a talent for what I do. I also hope that attendees bring some of their own personal energy to the conversation and help me understand what challenges they are facing. It would be great if a few talented people showed up and started other conversations regarding experiences they’ve had, and leave me with some amazing new train of thought at the end of the night.
My end goal of having discussion groups with creative professionals is this- I really hope that the Biznik attendees realize the best asset of any community is the talent of its members. I think there is a lot of information and intellect in the Biznik crowd- I can only hope that someone shares with me as much as I can share with them.
Barry’s personal blog is Technical Disaster.
barry hurd blogging business social networksEvents you’ve hosted now display on your profile
It’s been awhile since I’ve announced any new features on the current Biznik site. That’s because all our efforts right now are going into developing Biznik 2.0, which will be released in mid February. It doesn’t make sense for us to add many new features to the current site, because it’ll soon be completely replaced by something far superior. However, I did add one new thing today: a history of the events you’ve hosted is now displayed on your profile. Even more significantly for those of you with upcoming events, those now display near the top of your profile, so that whoever visits your page can tell at a glance what’s coming up, and what’s in the past. Clicking on the event’s title takes you to the event page, where members can RSVP for an upcoming event or join its discussion. Enjoy.
PS - Whoever created the event is given credit for hosting it (so if you were a co-host, you won’t receive credit). This is a problem that is fixed in the next release, which allows for multiple hosts per event.
PSS - Want to be the first to preview the next version of Biznik and help us shape its features? Become a supporting member and you’ll receive an invitation to the private beta test when it begins.
Biznik business networking features social network19-year-old entrepreneur Ross Hill hosts the first international Biznik event in Australia
Biznik now has members in 46 countries. But so far, all of our events have been in the United States. Thanks to Ross Hill, that’s about to change. The 19-year-old entrepreneur and university student from Australia will host Cashflow 101, the first international Biznik event on Wednesday, Dec. 6. I’ve mentioned Ross before in this post, but this occasion merits a full interview!
Q: Tell me a bit about yourself - you’re in university, yes?
I’m studying Entrepreneurship of all things! And yes there is a degree for that. It’s similar to a Bachelor of Business but with a major in Entrepreneurship. We study regular business areas such as marketing and finance but they are focussed on startups so we spend more time on things like low cost marketing techniques and raising capital. We also get to meet a range of entrepreneurs in the ‘Entrepreneurial and New Ventures’ class and hear their stories of both success and failure which is really insightful.
Q: You’re also running a business while you’re in school. Tell me about Thrive.
I’ve been playing with the web since I was 12 but started thinking more commercially in 2003. After doing a couple of sites word got out and I ended up getting a few leads through “networks” - a lot of people think that it is some big, scary term but my networks in those days were friends, people that my parents knew, and contacts of school teachers. In July 2006 I thought it was time to get a bit more serious and replace the “Ross Hill” business cards with something more solid, so I registered Thrive Web Marketing.
I think website design is a great way to get into business because of the low barriers to entry. Like a lot of freelancers and consultants, all I needed to get started was a mobile phone, a couple of business cards and my trusty Powerbook. It does cause a problem though, in that there are so many other website designers out there - search for web designer on Biznik and there are 233 results!
Running a business while in school is fantastic. It really suits my university course because I can apply what is learnt directly, and hand in the Thrive marketing and financial plans as assignments! You get feedback on your assignment, which is good academically, but it can also be applied practically in the business. Since all of the lecturers have a lot of experience this can be really helpful. In our third year of study every student actually has to start their own business anyway, so I guess I’ll be starting my second by then. Another advantage to having a business while studying is that I have had a lot of class mates hire me! My classmates and I were talking about the cost of our degree but some of us will probably end up breaking even by the end of it.
Q: I find it’s pretty rare to meet entrepreneurs who are under 30. Why do you think that is?
In a post on my blog called School Versus Real Life I quoted Chris Yeh saying “School isn’t like real life. In fact, it’s about as far from real life as can be imagined. The lessons that let you be successful in school (follow the rules, work hard, know the right answers) are completely the opposite of those that help you become a successful entrepreneur (change the rules, work smart, know the right questions).”
At the end of 2005 I completed 13 years of learning how to go out and get a job.
It isn’t ironic that most people go out and get a job, or study more at TAFE or university before finding work.
I think young people find it hard to get support to start a new business. Public perception is that it is too risky and that 90% of businesses fail within a year. That said, I think that there are actually a lot of young entrepreneurs around, or at least people with aspirations of starting their own business in the future. My university course has 70 excited young entrepreneurs, and with groups like VentureTribe they can get together with like-minded young people who will support them while they get started. The latest site in the Thrive Portfolio, Free Business Tips got some press recently and within a few days most of the members on the forum were young people. We just need places that we can go to find some positive energy and have someone asking us “why not?” instead of telling us why not!
Testing an idea is easy, and that is what makes the successful stand out from those who just mention their million-dollar-idea over a beer at a barbecue. With the internet you can test whether there is a market for your ideas without spending much at all. But you can just as easily do it in the real world as well. I came across the story of Innocent Juice and love it. They’d made juice at home and thought it could be a good business, so they bought a bunch of fruit and set up a stand at a music festival. They had a big sign that said “Do you think we should give up our jobs to make these smoothies?” and had two garbage bins underneath - one saying ‘YES’ and the other saying ‘NO’. At the end of the day the YES bin was full so they resigned the next day and got started building their new business which now commands $120,000,000 worth of the market.
I think people just need to realise how easy it is to get started. If you have an idea you are sitting on right now, ask yourself what is the simplest way that you can test to see if there are people who would buy your product or service? If there are then you already have your first sale!
Q: What gets you excited about entrepreneurship?
I’m sure you know the feeling - you walk into a networking event and there is this buzz in the room. Everybody is so excited about what they are doing and hearing about what everyone else is doing. That positive vibe and helpful attitude is addictive. People with jobs do “work”, entrepreneurs love what they do and find ways to get paid to do it. How could you choose to do anything else?
Q: How’d you learn about Biznik and why did you choose Biznik to host your event?
I stumbled across Biznik through a link on somebody’s blog and I liked what I saw so I signed up for an account and stuck around. The manifesto just shines and when I saw that you use Flickr and that there is a podcast I knew I had to look deeper. I don’t think I have seen a networking group with such a well-rounded online presence. Most of you are still in Seattle, though, so I had to put Geelong on the map! When I joined there were only 5 people in the whole of Australia but I have recruited a few more locals since then.
I had a game of Cashflow with a few guys a couple of weeks ago and it was really good fun so I thought I better pick a date for the next game. There were a couple of other Cashflow events listed but Biznik was clearly under-represented down under so I submitted the idea as an event. Now I can just send people to the Biznik link Geelong Cashflow 101 Night and they can RSVP there so it is a really simple process. It will be good to see what features are built into Biznik 2.0 - which sounds really exciting so far.
Ross’s website and blog is Thrive Web Marketing.
australia Biznik business networking cashflow entrepreneur startupTop Ten Marketing Mistakes #2: Trying to Sell to Everybody
Back on November 1st I wrote a blog post about The Number One Marketing Mistake Made by Small Business People Today. In today’s article–and in 8 more over the coming weeks–I’ll fill you in on the other “Top Ten Marketing Mistakes Made By Small Businesses” and give you a little insight into what you should do about them.
Small Business Marketing Mistake #2: Trying to Sell To Everybody
The guy was made of steel.
I mean literally. Or, well not literally: metaphorically. But if ever a guy came close to actually, literally being made of steel it was this guy here.
He was also built like an upside-down triangle with corded rope shoulders, biceps as big as dobermans and chest muscles so well defined that whole rivers could flow in the canyons between them. He was 5′10″ of steely defined gym-rat strength. He could bench press me, my brother and an entire lacrosse team at the same time.
And he couldn’t stretch to save his life.
I mean he tried there in my yoga class, sweating and suffering and pulling and balancing and silently cursing with the rest of us. Every time the instructor said “change” this steely specimen of protein-powder enhanced muscle mass gamely went through the motions trying to fold forward, wrap arms around elbows or arch oh, so elegantly backward.
And while I certainly admired the guy for all his effort, my inner marketing weasel got positively Zen-less at the sight of him. Why? Because our dear big muscle master was ignoring the core marketing principal of niching.
Alright, Haddad, what are you on about?
Just this: You can’t be both a massive body builder and a svelte and flexible yogi. Just like you can’t be both the cheapest and the most luxurious car manufacturer, or a real estate agent who specializes in both high class urban condos and spread out Montana ranches.
I mean, you can try. But it isn’t going to work out to well, and you might just hurt yourself. And even worse some guy with a blog post to write might just use you as a metaphor for a marketing principle.
If you want to be successful in business you can’t sell to everybody. You’ve got to pick one thing and be great at it. If you want to be successful, you’ve got to niche.
“But . . . but . . . if I niche myself–if I suddenly say that I only work with a certain industry or that I’m an expert in just this one thing–won’t I lose business?”
Sure. But it’s business you probably don’t really want anyway. And business that isn’t paying you that well. And business that you’ll probably resent actually doing. And if you do it right–if you pick a niche that there’s actually a demand for and become an unassailable expert in that little corner of your field, you’ll more than make up for those jobs you’re “losing out on.”
Really, you should look at niching as an opportunity–as a way to pick out just the kind of client or consumer you want to be working with and just the kind of work you want to be doing and build your whole business around it. In the end–after the dust has settled and after you’ve rid yourself of the “blazing eyes of fear” you’ll find that you’ve built a more successful, more profitable and–this is my favorite part–more fun business and that the whole concept of “competition” seems downright quaint.
Tune in next time for marketing mistake #3: Not Knowing what you’re REALLY selling.
Al Bundy Sold Women’s Shoes
This article was originally posted to The Hardworking Words Blog as a part of the Hardworking Words newsletter. To subscribe to the newsletter, send an email to hwwords@aweber.com
In today’s issue you’ll learn the answers to:
-What does Married with Children’s Al Bundy know about target marketing that most business people don’t?
-What deadly emotion can stop your sales in their tracks and send your marketing plan right to its room without any supper?
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Al Bundy Sold Women’s Shoes
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When I was a kid, one of my favorite TV shows was “Married with Children.”
Ever Sunday night, my dad, my brother and I would plop down on the couch and watch the Bundy clan go through their white trash ballet. It was TV for the rest of us–the folks who didn’t fit the Cosby mold and who couldn’t even fathom why those “Family Ties” were so damned strong.
“Married” was smart in its utter idiocy. And Ed O’Neil, as washed up football player and shoe salesman Al Bundy, taught me more about the sales game than any five books on the subject.
Because you see, Al Bundy was a *bad* salesman. He hectored his customers, insulted them to their faces and got horrible shivers every time he had to help a less-than-svelte lady try on a new pair of pumps.
But Al still managed to keep his family in ramen noodles and beer.
Why?
Because Al Bundy Sold *Women’s* Shoes.
And because Al Bundy knew what 90% of marketers out there don’t know. Al Bundy knew that he was *not* his target market.
And odds are, neither are you.
==================
“But *I* Don’t Like That. ”
==================
Good copy–and good marketing in general–is ego-less.
Now, I’m not saying you personally have to be some sort of detached zen master.
But when you’re putting together your marketing, writing up your sales letter or preparing an email blast (or even if you’re paying someone to do it for you), you’ve got to remember that what you personally like and what you’d personally respond to is about as important as what color socks Neil Armstrong wore on the moon.
Because you are not your target market any more than Al Bundy was an overweight woman in the Chicago burbs.
“But Chris, I’m not a washed-up 40-year-old ex-high-school-football star selling women’s shoes! I’m a yogi selling yoga stuff! I’m a hip 30 year old massage therapist selling to hip 30 year olds! I’m a tech executive selling to technology companies! I AM My target market! Aren’t I?”
Eh. You’d think so, wouldn’t you? But even if you fit the demographic (and demographics aren’t worth much in my opinion) or psychographic profile of your target to a key, you still aren’t them.
Why?
Because you know too much. You know too much about the product. You know too much about all the hard work you’ve done building your business.
And because as a business owner or a marketer your ego is right there in the middle of your head second guessing every decision you make and encouraging you to put out marketing materials that you think *should* work as opposed to what *does* work. And when you’ve got that kind of attitude rolling around in your head–when you let your ego drive the bus–you’re heading for a time-consuming and costly business breakdown.
So here’s your prescription:
Next time you’re planning a campaign, writing a marketing piece or just looking over a design or some copy an outside vendor put together for, I want you to close your eyes right there at your desk, take a deep meditative breath and say “Al Bundy Sold Women’s Shoes.” Repeat it to yourself over and over like a mantra. Let it sink in deep.
Then think about your actual target market. Paint a picture of them in your head. Get it sharp, from the way they stand, to the worries bouncing around their brains to that little scar on their left cheek.
And then–and only then, after your ego has been sent to its room without any supper–can you get to work.
Biznik Indie Business Podcast Episode 9 - Abuse your illusions.
The Biznik Podcast episode 9 is now cooked and ready for your listening pleasure. In this episode, I chat with Canadian Biznik Brian Hogg about the nature of passion in your work.
Can you paid doing something you love?
Is disillusionment a good thing?
Would you rather like what you do but starve or loathe what you do and throw back glasses of Cristal every night?
It’s a hot button topic, especially for the baby Bizniks out there who haven’t quite made the leap to indie business glory.
Go Listen and then come back here and give us your opinion on the great passion debate.
How to Avoid Getting Screwed by New Clients (fishers and wolves)
Who has time? If you are an independent web designer today, not you. What about that new client who keeps calling and asking questions? You want the work, but you’re taxed for time. You may be unsure about the new client’s commitment level too. This is exactly where to start. Determine right away if the caller is a good client or one that falls into the category of fishers and wolves.
A fisher is typically well spoken and is experienced as being well meaning. So when they sling a hook, they usually catch you. Fishers want pieces of your expertise (that has taken you years to learn) for free, and he or she is in no position to commit to a project. Though, fishers always lead you to believe that they are.
Wolves, like in fairy tales, symbolize two behaviors: to devour and to self-serve. They are aggressive, use technology jargon (that they have little understanding of) and want to move forward at a lightening pace. In the end, if you’re dealing with a wolf, you’ll get eaten. They will steal your time, talent and financial livelihood. Wolves have elaborate stories about how they can’t pay you right now, and in the same breath will add 5 new features outside the scope of work.
How do you spot a fisher or wolf?
You can spot a fisher or wolf by devising good business practices and sticking to them. Here is the method that I use, and remember, this is for new clients, not existing ones.
::1 Upon receiving the first email or phone call about a new project, I immediately send my pricelist. I offer hourly services, as well as fixed bid services.
::2 When I send out my pricelist, I tell the new client that I offer a free 30 minute phone consultation to better understand their website needs. I provide available times for this free consultation.
Most fishers and wolves stop right here. I never hear from them again. Good riddance! But alas, there is one more step needed to spot them.
::3 In my 30-minute phone consultation, I reserve the last 10 minutes to talk process and numbers. “Here is how I work,” I say.
- I start with a Discovery document. This includes defining each of your website needs and creating a Statement of Work. Writing these documents will take “x” hours of time. Payment of this phase is due before I begin.
- Once the Statement of Work is finalized, 50% percent of the project cost is due. After payment is received, design and development for your project begins.
[Originally posted at VainNotion.com]
clients design entrepreneurship freelance independent business new small business web designSeattle writing coach Rachel Whalley helps entrepreneurs Write with Meaning
Blogging is a fantastic way to put a human face on your business — if you know how to write with passion and flair. But what if you don’t? What if a blank screen and a blinking cursor just reminds you of term papers and sleepless nights?
“Sometimes all you need is a little expertise and some support from a compassionate person you trust,” says Rachel Whalley, who has made a businesses out of teaching people to Write with Meaning. Next Monday is a great opportunity to learn from her first hand, when she teams up with Dominic Canterbury to offer a class on business blogging. But let’s find out a little more about her first, shall we?
Q: Teaching people how to write is typically an academic pursuit. How’d you come to do it for a living outside of academia, and what do you enjoy most about teaching people to write?
I did teach classes while getting my first graduate degree. My favorite part of being a teacher was the individual student conferences, where I could connect with each person. I have a much easier time giving a person what she needs if I can get a sense of how she learns best and how my message needs to be formed in order to reach her. From my perspective, ten minutes of one-on-one time is worth four hours of lectures pulled straight from the textbook.
I don’t particularly like working inside of academia. It’s oddly political and in a less direct manner than the corporate world. I also prefer to make a decent living, which is much more possible as an entrepreneur. And I want to work with people who are invested in improving. Your average college student could give a rat’s ass, honestly. He’s just trying to pass his classes so he can keep partying on daddy’s dime.
I love helping people improve their writing because the excitement is contagious. Helping people reverse the damage from mean English teachers and conquer their writing fears…it’s a rush. The same is true when I help people get unstuck in their writing projects. Entrepreneurs LOVE what they do for a living, and I love helping them talk about it and bring their passion to a greater audience. If more people could do what they loved rather than what they barely tolerated, the world would be a much better place. It’s all about world peace, really.
Q: You and Dominic Canterbury are hosting an event about business blogging. Can you tell me more about it?
Our class is a combination of Dominic’s marketing wisdom and my writing expertise, packed into two hours. Blogging for business is such a new tool and many people don’t know how to start and/or how to do it right. We think that blogs give future clients an intermediary step between first exposure and actually meeting you or trying your product. And, it’s far better than a static website because it can actually demonstrate your expertise, as well as your personality. Personality, as if we didn’t know, is key for a successful entrepreneur.
Q: If I attend your upcoming class, what can I expect to learn?
You will learn a bevy of things, including how a blog boosts business, how to setup a blog, who to blog for, what to write about, and how to say it. Most successful business bloggers are not teachers or coaches by nature, so there’s little help out there for people who want to learn to walk the tightrope between personal and professional writing. I’ll be helping you learn to step more confidently on that wire, like your own balancing pole. And of course, any class that gives you access to Dominic’s marketing insight is a great deal!
The class will be part material-presentation by me and Dominic, part Q & A, and part collaboration in small groups with other Bizniks. I’ve really enjoyed classes that include time to work on ideas with other people, since more minds increase creativity AND it gives me a chance to network. I’m excited that we’re incorporating small-group work into our class.
I measure the success of a class by how much I leave with. You will walk away from this class with all your essential business blogging questions answered, stronger connections with other Bizniks, and (drum roll, please) personalized topic ideas for five business blog posts.
Q: What’s the most common writing mistake you see indie business people making?
Not revising. You can catch so many embarrassing or confusing mistakes (poor grammar, repeated words, nonsense phrases) in your writing just by giving it a good once over. I can’t tell you how many people think they’re bad writers because they don’t write a perfect first draft. I’m gonna let you in on a dirty little secret–NO ONE writes perfect first drafts. Not me, not Tolstoy, not Seth Godin. No one. If you think you’re a bad writer, stop and consider whether you ever review your writing before publishing it. It may just be that you’re a good writer and a crappy editor.
Learn more about this upcoming event and RSVP online. Rachel’s website is writewithmeaning.com.
My Bias Is Showing
Yea, I know, Indie Business people come from all walks of life. I’m sure we’ve got a few social conservatives on here (How they got here, I have no idea) and even more financial conservative (um, actually, I think I fit that bill.)
But am I the only Biznik dancing madly at the idea that the Dems took both the house and the Senate?
I mean WOWZA!! Wowza, I say!!
Man, I hope we never have “Who gets to write the Biznik blog” elections. I couldn’t handle the stress.
The most underutilized marketing tool in the small business universe.
When I started my biz 3 years back (it’s my anniversary!) I got my first couple clients the hard way: I called them on the phone and begged.
Yea, I know, cold calling is scary. It’s enough to make little bumps crawl up all over your skin and for your teeth to clench together so tight that dogs start howling from the sound. But it’s also a tried, tested and true method of building up a client base.
And if you’re diligent with your cold calling the first time you do it, you’ll probably never have to do it again.
Now, here’s a quick caveat: Cold calling isn’t going to get you anywhere if you’re selling straight to consumers (It’s called telemarketing). The do not call list, plus the shear number of folks out there means it’s just too much of a waste of your time.
But if you’re selling your services to businesses, it’s probably the most straightforward and simple way for you to get started.
So here are a few tips on how to do cold calling the right way.
1. Get a headset. If you’re uncomfortable (physically, I already know you’re going to be uncomfortable emotionally. I mean, damn, I’m asking you to sell yourself.) It’s going to show in your voice. Plus you’ll get a nasty kink in your neck. Ouch!
2. Get a list. No, you can’t just open the phone book, pick a name at random and ask “Can I rolf you?” I mean, you could. But you’ll probably get some weird screams and giggles. Instead figure out who has the biggest need (whether they know it or not) for your services, and put together a nice, easy to use list. It either be on a piece of paper or in a fancy, schmancy database, but just make sure it’s easy to use, and that you’ve got room for notes. The Puget Sound Business Journal publishes a “Book of Lists” every year filled with names, numbers and email addresses of the top 25 local companies in a variety of industries. It’s a great place to start.
3. Know who you want to talk to. If at all possible, hop on the web before your call and find out who the person in charge is. If you’re selling rolfing services to a company, you’ll want the HR director. If you’re a copywriter, you’ll want the creative director. Try to get a name.
4. Have a script. Before you pick up the phone, know exactly what it is that you’re going to say. Type it up and print it out in front of you. And make sure you include what the heck is in it for the person you’re talking to. Something like “Hi, my name is Tom and I offer in-office massage services to companies around Seattle. I’d love the chance to come in and talk to you about how I can help make your employees happier, healthier and more productive at a very reasonable cost. . . ”
Memorize your script. Practice it. Say it to yourself in the mirror.
5. Don’t waste your time on the gatekeepers. People in charge don’t tend to answer their own phones. Don’t waste a lot of time convincing assistants and office managers how great you are. Just call up, ask for whoever’s in charge and move on.
6. Learn to love rejection. The vast bulk of people you call aren’t going to want what you’ve got to offer. Cold calling is a numbers game. Every “no” you get, means you’re one step closer to getting a “Yes.” And honestly, in B2B cold calling the folks you’re talking to aren’t likely to be mean. Most of the time they’ll even apologize for not needing you.
7. Be prepared for the yes and the maybe. If you get a hot one on the line, you’ve got to be ready to move. Make sure you’ve got a next step figured out. That could be an in-person meeting (preferable), an email with a link to your site and a promise to follow up or even just a “Well, let me send you my information so that you can keep me in your files.”
And wham! THere it is! Cold calling.
Take a deep breath. Hold your phone close to your chest. It’s all going to be alright.
One thing you should never, ever do.
Never, Ever, Ever apologize for your price.
Ever.
I know, I know. You feel guilty asking for cash for that thing you’ve built your business around.
But all you do when you get all sheepish, turn your eyes down or (heaven forbid) say “Oh, golly is that too much?” is paint yourself as an un-professional.
Don’t do it.
Ever.
If you do, I will find you and I will hit you with the slappy stick.
That is all.
Real Bizniks Vote
The polls are open. You make your own schedule. Get the hell down there and vote.
If You Never Try, You Can Never Fail
I’ve got a friend who’s an opera singer. She’s got a heck of a voice, but she doesn’t sing much. Instead she spends her time working retail and wondering what would happen if she made a go of it as a singer.
I’ve got a friend who’s a screenwriter. He does things with words that make me cry. But he doesn’t write much, he doesn’t send out his screenplays to agents and he mostly just bitches about how bad most movies are these days.
I’ve got a friend who’s always coming up with great business ideas. We’ll be sitting there having dinner and he’ll just spout off about this great new approach to doing something or that fascinating invention that nobody has thought of before. And when I tell him “Hey, you’ve got something there. You should go for it!” he just sort of shifts in his seat all uncomfortable, shifts his eyes down and bites back into his burger.
See a pattern?
When I was younger (because I’m so old now) I always wanted to be a professional writer. It was something I was good at. It was something I had a talent for, but whenever it came down to sitting down at the keyboard and actually cranking something out, I’d freeze up. I’d come up with excuses. I’d surf the net, go for long walks, read, get into arguments with friends. . .anything to avoid actually having to DO what I was so sure I wanted to do.
Why?
Because if I never tried–if I never put an honest effort–I could never fail. If I never tried, I could go my whole life thinking I could have made a go of it as a writer. If I never tried, I could never find out that I suck.
What aren’t you doing, Biznik? What big thing have you been putting off for years? Because here’s what I’m going to do, I’m going to give you permission to try as hard as you can and, more importantly, I’m going to tell you that’s it’s OK to fall flat on your face.
Failure is a good thing. Failure teaches you something. And failure lets you move on and do something else. And even better, sometimes when you try, heck, you succeed.
Tad Hargrave brings his Radical Business Intensive to Seattle November 17 - 19, 2006
A lot of indie business people fail to distinguish themselves by trying to be everything to everybody - that is, everybody who they think can afford their services. Tad Hargrave doesn’t have this problem. He’s a living, breathing, kilt-wearing example of how nich-marketing yourself can get your customer’s attention, and hold it. How does he do it? Well, for starters, he works only with “green, local, sustainable, holistic, life-affirming and otherwise conscious entrepreneurs.” And then there’s the kilt he wears while teaching seminars. And the fact that his seminars are “pay what you can.” Intrigued? Tad will be sharing his marketing wisdom to a Seattle audience November 17-19. I interviewed him recently to learn more about his approach to marketing and what anyone who attends his event can expect to learn.
Q: Your Biznik profile lists your job title as “marketing consultant to hippies.” Can you elaborate?
Sure. Basically, it means that I work exclusively with businesses that are some combination of locally owned, community minded, conscious, green, ethical and sustainable. I carefully screen my clients - even for workshops. The more radical they are, the more I like them. What I found was that there were no trainings or services out there for these folks. And I think they’re needed. I mean, there’s a lot of ways to talk about it but basically we live in what I call the “Suicide Economy” and we’re trying to shift over to a more “Conscious Economy,” you know? But that’s a hard transition, especially for business owners. And there’s not much help. Most of the marketing training available are incredibly, incredibly expensive and also very . . . how to say it - they’re aggressively capitalist. I found it a distraction. But at the Radical Business Intensive weekends it’s only hippies. It’s only business owners who embrace the notion of a triple bottom line of not only financial profit, but also people and the planet. It makes the events way more exciting, safe and open.
Q: Tell me about your upcoming event in Seattle.
I’m getting really excited about it.
The Radical Business Intensive will be happening in Seattle Nov 17-19. It’s being sponsored by BALLE Seattle and run in partnership with Biznik member and marketing genius Dominic Canterbury.
It’s a weekend-long training where conscious entrepreneurs can meet each other, have some space to reflect and wrestle with some of the tough issues of marketing their businesses effectively. We focus on the basic, core fundamentals of marketing.
I guess there’s a few main things about it that I think are particularly cool.
First, nobody pays a cent to me when they register. No credit cards. No cheques. No cash. People don’t pay me a dime until the last 7 minutes of the weekend.
Second, in those last seven minutes, people only pay me what they thought it was worth. I work on a pay-what-you-can basis, based on what you can afford philosophy. You like it a little? Just give me a little. You like it a lot? Then you can give me a lot. People still have a hard time believing this, that there’s no big catch, but there really isn’t. I even have people pay with three cheques so they can break the payment up to make it easier on them.
Third, people get like 331 pages of grounding materials worth more than $500 before they ever arrive. And the materials are really, really good.
Q: How successful have you been with your “pay what you can” pricing strategy? I have to admit we’ve had limited success with that approach on Biznik so far.
It’s gone really well. I’ve learned a lot about how to do it and how not to do it. I think they jury’s still out on it in some ways but I’m young and single and this is the time for me to experiment, you know? But it’s gone well.
Here’s the main lessons I’ve learned:
1) You’ve got to be clear that pay what you can does not equal “free”. It must be clear that paying nothing is not an option. I think even if somebody just gives me a dollar . . . there’s something about respect there in the ritual of acknowledging that an exchange happened. You must pay something.
2) You must make clear to people how much they would be paying for this anywhere else. Most people will have no idea what to give. They might not know that I’ve gone to 5 day marketing seminars that cost $5000 (not including accommodations). They might not realize that the average weekend seminar would cost about $1693. So, it’s important to help people understand the value that they’re receiving. It’s so important to really communicate this again and again. To take it seriously.
3) Multiple cheques. In my situation people used to just pay me with one cheque. And I can’t tell you how many times people said, “Tad, the weekend was amazing. I want to give you more but . . . this is all I can afford . . .” They felt so ashamed and I was like, “Dude, I don’t care.” but they did and I realized that this same person would likely now avoid me in the future because they felt like they owed me something. It was odd. So then I started making it mandatory for people to pay with three cheques. Not only did it almost double the amount of money I got but I stopped getting the “I wish I could pay more” responses. It felt more . . . comfortable for both sides.
I think it works well for one time things but I really question its applicability for long term situations. Like pay what you can monthly coaching? I can’t imagine that working.
And I think you have to be ready to only receive a fraction of what you would if people paid full price. But that’s the trade off - you get less money per person, but you get WAY more people because there’s so little risk.
Q: How do you define your work as “radical?”
What’s not needed right now is to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic.
The idea of trying to patch up the Titanic or just “greenwash it” to make it look prettier and more sustainable misses the point so profoundly.
We need another boat entirely. Abandon ship.
It’s similar with the greenwashing that major corporations are doing today.
On my website I list the values of Radical Business as:
“Fair trade not ‘Free’ trade, alternative education that nurtures the whole child, not just reading, writing and ‘rithmetic’, a maximization of relationships, not of profits; honesty and transparency, not more lies, hype and manipulation; naturalness, not pretense; the growth of consciousness and creativity , not brands and market share; democracy and decentralized ownership, not concentrated wealth; a living return, not the highest return; a living wage, not the minimum wage; a fair price, not the lowest price; sharing, not hoarding; simplicity, not luxury; life-serving, not self-serving; partnership, not domination; cooperation, not competition; win-win exchange, not win-lose exploitation; family farms, not factory farms; biodiversity, not mono-crops; cultural diversity , not monoculture; creativity, not conformity; slow food, not fast food; our bucks, not Starbucks; our mart, not Wal-Mart; a love of life , not a love of money.”
But to me it’s really coming from this deep sense that we need large not small changes. We don’t need a “more sustainable” Suicide Economy. I think that whole focus is bullshit.
I mean, God bless all work to decrease the violence and damage that groups like The Natural Step are doing at all levels, but the idea of “greening the Suicide Economy” as a goal? I feel horrified and disgusted by that. As a means? Possibly. As an ends? No way.
Plus, the idea of talking about making the Suicide Economy, Empire, the Corporate Global Economy - whatever you want to call it - MORE sustainable is misguided at best because that presupposes that it already IS sustainable and now we’re just making it more so, you know? The Suicide Economy is NOT sustainable. It is violent. It can be made less violent but . . . is that it? Is that the extent of our vision? To decrease violence?
No.
Our ends and our means must both shift - not a little but a lot. We don’t need reasonable and conservative changes - we need radical change. We all feel it. We need to find a way to meet human needs and the needs of all life without imperiling future generations. Hell, without imperiling THIS generation.
So, I’m constantly pushing people to consider what more we can do as entrepreneurs.
Q: What role do you see business playing in making positive change?
A major one. I think that one of the most powerful, practical and most easily embraceable things we can and must do is build up local, living economies. There are more radical things we can do, but this, to me, is a major priority. There are things that business owners can do that non-profits simply can’t.
We need to rebuild and renew locally, even as we work to dismantle global systems of oppression. We need to grow our food locally again. We need to get to know our neighbors again. We need to support locally owned businesses again.
Here’s two articles that go more deeply into this:
http://www.tadhargrave.com/index_html/Welcome
http://radicalbusiness.blogspot.com/2006/09/as-radical-as-we-wanna-be.html
Q: What’s the biggest mistake you see indie businesses people making?
The first thing I’d say is that it’s different for each business. I’ve actually seen eleven major problems that crop up and I created a really simple diagnostic tool - a quiz of sorts - that entrepreneurs can use to pinpoint where they’re strong and where they’re weak on a general level. I get raves reviews about it:
www.tadhargrave.com/Virtual_Workshops/horriblehundred
But to answer it directly, I’d say the biggest mistake is not making their marketing a priority. They put it off. They just don’t handle it. And I can’t really blame them, up until now there haven’t been many trainings or books or consultants targeted to a conscious, green, local business. What this often creates is a strange incongruence in a business. The inner reality is wonderful. The products and services kick ass. But . . . no one knows about them.
Tad’s Radical Business Intensive is coming to Seattle on November 17-19. It will be held at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center in West Seattle. To learn more, visit www.tadhargrave.com/RBI
Biznik business networking green marketing radical Seattle sustainable“You can’t get there from here.”
So, I’m sure we’ve all had this experience.
You’re in your car, or you’re walking somewhere you’ve never been before, and it just seems like it takes FOREVER to get there. It’s like there are little children in the back of your brain going “Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” and you just want to pull over to the side of the road and wring their little imaginary necks.
But then on the way home, the trip seems to take just about no time at all. It’s easy! The kids in your brain spend the whole time playing the hand-slapping game and singing startlingly un-annoying songs.
So what’s the difference? On the way home you know where you’re going, you know how to get there, and you know how long it should take.
Now think about your business. Where are you going? How are you going to get there? How long is it going to take?
Are you just driving around with the kids hoping to stumble onto your final destination? Or are you laying out a map, asking people who know how to get there and doing everything you can to get that destination firm and full in your mind?
Because the kids want to know.
What’s the number one marketing mistake made by small business people today?
Continuing my mad assault on the Biznik blog (I could be working, but this is more fun) is this little nugget gleaned from “The Top Ten Marketing Mistakes Made By Small Businesses And What to Do About Them” class (quite possibly coming soon to a city near you.)
So, what’s the number one marketing mistake made by small businesses?
Thinking that MARKETING and ADVERTISING are the same thing.
When you first hang out your shingle, you probably got leapt upon by hungry ad salesmen like a fresh young elk in a cage full of lions.
“You’ve got to get your name out there!” they growled at you. “We’ll grow your business by leaps and bounds!!” they said with a snarl.
And then you looked down and realized they were gnawing on your leg with big sharp teeth and that you probably wouldn’t be bounding anywhere.
Do me a favor
Take out a piece of white paper and draw a big, big circle that takes up just about the whole page. Now label the circle “Marketing.”
Now over in the right corner of that circle, draw a much, much smaller circle and label it “Advertising.”
We just made something called a Ven diagram. And what that diagram is telling us is this:
Advertising is always Marketing
But marketing is not always advertising.
In fact advertising–interruption ads that leap out from newspapers, bombard your eyes on the interweb or interrupt Lost right when something good is going to happen–is just a small, small part of Marketing.
And an expensive and, for most smaller businesses, utterly ineffective part at that.
So, what fills up all that empty space in the marketing universe?
Glad you asked. All sorts of stuff. Stuff like blogging, newsletter writing, podcasting, word of mouth marketing, internet marketing (no, I don’t mean banner ads), Direct Response Marketing and, of course, hiring a guy in a banana suit to dance outside your shop.
Wait, not that last part.
Now, I spend my days working with clients as a marketing consultant and copywriter. Which means I sell stuff with words.
And it’s the rarest thing in the world that I tell a small business to open up the piggy bank and spring for a print, radio or TV ad.
Because it’s expensive.
Because it’s usually untargeted.
And because the last thing you want to do is feed the lions.
Later
Chris Haddad
Haddad Ink.
What exactly is an entrepreneur?
One of my favorite Bushisms is “The French don’t have a word for Entrepreneur.”
(And if you can’t figure out why that’s funny, we’ve got a problem.)
But here in the good old US of A, we’ve got a couple of words for Entrepreneur. My favorite is “Risk taking badass.”
Because Entrepreneurs usually do their high flying trapeze act without a net.
If they succeed, it’s on their own hard work, gumption and ability to recognize an opportunity.
And if they fail. . . well, failure is just an opportunity in disguise.
Pat yourselves on the back, Bizniks. Whether you’re a one man massage machine trying to eke out a living or a big brained business monster trying to take over the world, you’re an entrepreneur. And you are badass.
How–and why–to fire a client.
As indie business people we’ve all had those clients we just don’t want to work with.
You know the ones I’m talking about. The clients who call you in the middle of your kid’s soccer game for a conversation that “just can’t wait.” The ones who answer your pleas for prompt payment with “Oh, yea, I totally put that check in the mail last week. What do you mean you didn’t get it?”
The ones who, uh, well, suck.
And when you’re out there on your own trying to pay the rent and make a go of it as an indie entrepreneur, it can be tough to hang on to your self respect and even tougher to turn down paying work.
But here’s the deal:
For every moment you spend dealing with a sucky, brain numbing, energy sapping client you’re giving up a moment you could be spending with a good client. Or that you could be spending working on your own projects, building your business or lazing about the garden with a big old smile on your face.
Every job you do and every client you take on has an opportunity cost.
When you choose to do one thing with your time, you’re giving up the chance to do something else with your time. And that something else might be a whole lot more financially and spiritually fulfilling.
So if a client sucks–if the opportunity a client is giving you isn’t as good as the opportunity you’re giving up–fire him.
And here’s how:
1. Get yourself in a calm state. It’s tempting to fire clients when you’re in a huff, having just gotten into an argument about payment terms or what is and what isn’t a good time to call. But for a smooth firing you need to be calm.
2. Pick your medium. I think phone is the best, but if you’re more comfortable over email, go for it.
3. Keep it about business. In a calm tone, just say “Bob, I’m sorry but I don’t think we’re going to be able to work together anymore.” Don’t yell. Don’t scream. Don’t use any of those lovely insults you’ve been saving up for the occasion. Just calmly walk away.
Now, 9 times out of 10 a client you’ve just let go will come chasing after you with a bouquet of roses and promises to be better in the future.
Should you take them back? Well, again, weigh the opportunity. And this time make sure you set the rules firm and keep the power for yourself.