Biznik t-shirts and coffee mugs will be available at BizJam
Lara and I are sharing our living room with four huge boxes of Biznik t-shirts this evening (and as many boxes of coffee mugs). They were delivered today, in plenty of time for us to have them on sale at BizJam on June 9th. We had two designs made, in mens and women’s style shirts. And these aint no cheap “send-us-your-logo” models, either: these are 100% organic cotton, Alternative Apparel shirts from t-shirt guru and schwag afficionado Lisa Lippi at B-Bam! in Capitol Hill. We’ve really enjoyed working with Lisa on these, and are thrilled with not only the results, but with her help in picking the right style, giving us plenty of samples, and then seeing the project through to delivery on our doorstep. If your biz is considering schwag of any kind, allow me to introduce Lisa to you, in her own words (from her Biznik profile):
bizjam Biznik business networking promotion schwag Seattle t shirtsAt B-BAM!, we have a saying: “Imagine. Design. Create.” We believe in the greatness of possibility and appreciate people’s ideas, from inception to fruition. We are proud of the creativity, efficiency, and integrity found in our employees as well as in the services and products we provide. Add some love, and B-BAM! You have values that make an unstoppable business model and create a truly fun, harmonious place to work.
0 Comments Biznik 2.0 Sneak Peek: You define the boundaries of your local community
OK, we haven’t even released this yet and already I’ve got an exciting update to my previous post about local communities: John Adair, Biznik’s insanely talented and sharp-dressing Rails developer, has added a tool that allows you to define the boundaries of your local community. It’s a simple little popup menu on the members page that allows you to define the boundaries of your local community. (Previously the boundary defaulted to 50 miles, but that was too big because, for example, Bellevue and Seattle results were lumped together). Now, you can set the default to be as little as 5 miles, which really brings it home. Here’s a peek at the interface, set to show Bellevue Real Estate agents with 5 miles:
This is a LOT of fun to play with, changing the boundaries of your community and seeing who pops up close to you. And incredibly useful because it gives you full control over how you define “local.”
business networking local search social media social networkingBiznik 2.0 Sneak Peek: Killer profiles
At the core of every social network are people. And people are represented by profiles. We’ve got a whole bunch of brilliant people here at Biznik, so it was very important to us that the new profile design reflect their brilliance. And in a way that would be totally simple to create and maintain. And, for paying members, to enhance. So. Here’s what we’ve done:
You’ll notice that the photos are larger than on the old site. You’ll notice the familiar action menu right below the picture, only on the profile page, it’s already expanded, with the options visible. You can see at a glance when the person was active, immediately under the photo, in a convenient format. The main column contains the profile, and further down, compliments the member has received, and, more. Over in the right column, there’s something new: A Google map which, by default, plots the member’s approximate location (for privacy reasons, we plot to the middle of their zip code, not to their street address, although you can override this to be less or more accurate - more about that in a minute).
You’ll notice two more tabs on each profile - “network” and “events.” Pressing the network tab shows you who is in the member’s network, and who the member has referred business to and received referrals from:
Under the “events” tab, users can see which events Gwen has attended and is planning to attend.
So, how does Gwen manage all of this? What if she wants to change her email address, or her password, or update her profile? This is the beauty of the new site: almost everything can be edited right where you’d expect - on the item itself. Here’s what Gwen sees when she’s looking at her own profile:
It’s pretty self-explanatory from here on out - if you want to edit something, just click the edit button next to the item you’d like to edit. For example, to upload a different photo, select edit under the photo, and you’ll get this menu, which allows you to upload a replacement:
Want to update the name of your business or your business address? Here’s the edit-in-place screen for that:
And if you’ve got a business address that you want to publish, it’s easy to set that for the map, so that people can find your location. Just click the edit button under the map, and select the level you want to map.
As you can see, there are a lot more tabs that appear above your profile when you’re viewing your own profile, because there’s lots of stuff in here for you. For example, you’ve got tabs for viewing all messages that are sent to you:
I’ve already talked about the virtues of the Visual Inbox in a previous post. You’ve also got Bookmarks, which allows you to bookmark any person, event, or Biz Talk topic, so that you can keep a finger on the pulse of your business network.
Account settings is the location for everything that needs to be edited about your profile, but doesn’t actually display anywhere that you could edit it in place. That’s things like your password, your account preferences, which now include the ability to select which emails you want to receive from Biznik (or none at all). You can set your keywords here, which a lot of other sites call tags, which help make connections between you and other people and also edit your meta description which affects what appears in search engine results. You can also upgrade or downgrade your membership here, easily and simply:
Adding a blog is easy (for paying members): just select the blog’s url, and your most recent x number of headlines will now appear on your profile, which is a great way to let people know what you’re up to without having to blog in more than one place!
That’s about all that time is going to allow us to fit into this initial release of Biznik, and it should give you plenty of new toys to play with until we release even more.
Next up: Events, the lifeblood of this community.
business networking profiles social media social networking web 2.0Biznik 2.0 Sneak Peek: Local Communities
How can you save time, reduce carbon consumption, help friends, build your business AND your community, all at the same time? It’s simple: Shop indie. A legion of studies show that spending your money in the independent, local economy is important to the economic health of a region. The most recent one, “The San Francisco Retail Diversity Study,” released earlier this month, shows that independent bookstores returned far more to the San Francisco area - $54 million - than did Internet sellers and chains, which returned just $8 million a year.
And money isn’t the only measure of success. Indie businesses also have less of an impact on the environment, contribute less to suburban sprawl, and are less polluting. Why? Because they make more local purchases, which require less transportation costs. And they tend to be located in neighborhood centers as opposed to suburbs on the fringe of a city.
I’ll be posting a lot more on this topic in the coming days. But today, I want to talk about what I believe is the most significant new feature in the forthcoming new version of Biznik: Local communities. Up until now Biznik has essentially been a Seattle community. Which is great - if you live in Seattle. But Biznik now has members in 65 countries, and because we feel so passionately about the importance of local, indie business, it was clear to us that, to make Biznik even more useful and relevant, we needed to localize the site to users everywhere, showing them nearby members, and nearby events, and filtering out stuff that didn’t matter to them. And that’s exactly what we’ve done with Biznik Local Communities. Here’s how it works:
By default, when a user visits the site, they’ll see the Seattle Community. That’s because it’s currently the largest, with the most happening. (In a future version, we’ll auto-detect the location of the person viewing the site - without requiring them to be signed on - and automatically show them the community closest to them).
If you’re from Boston, for example, you can select Boston from the city list, and suddenly, the whole website changes to reflect that. An alert pops up, telling you that the closest event is 389 miles away, in Washington, DC, and invites you to create something a little closer. Instead of someone in Seattle, the site introduces you to someone who is in your local community, in the right column.
But what if your city isn’t on the list? Simple - you can add it yourself.
On the new site’s member directory, members continue to be sorted by activity, with the most active members topping the list. That’s because we’re big believers in the ethic of participation, and reward the most active members by making them the most visible. Only now, the most active members in your local community appear at the top of the list, rather than the most active members on the entire site. (Finding members outside of Boston is as easy as unselecting the “Search only near Boston” box).
There’s a lot going on behind the scenes to make this happen - but it’s really simple for you to use. And simpler than ever to find local indie business people to collaborate with and purchase services from. Which means you can feel good, because you’re doing the right thing for your local community, the environment, while at the same time promoting and building your business. Good stuff!
Next up: I’ll introduce the heart of the new site - the profile page (on which everything is editable - without going to a separate admin page).
Biznik business networking community indie business local business shop localBiznik 2.o Sneak Peek: Action Menus and Visual InBox
Since Rob Nachbar and Natasha Alim have us firing press releases all over the place announcing the new version of the website, and it won’t be live here until June 9th, I’m going to start sharing a few of the new features here in advance of the launch, so you can get a taste of what’s coming. And oh yes, I should probably make this announcement official: the new site will be launched on June 9th, in time for Seattle BizJam. Really. We’ve had to cut a few features to make that date, including the much-anticipated groups feature, but we’ll be adding that back in just as soon as possible after the launch, when it’s fully baked.
Today I’d like to show you one interface feature that I’m really excited about: Action Menus. There are six actions that members can take any time you see a picture of another member:
Our goal in creating this was to allow the six most common actions that you can take on another member to be constantly at your fingertips, without having to travel to another page to complete the action. As you can see here, sending a message to a member happens entirely within the same page. Once the message has been sent, a confirmation winks at you, then the popup menu disappears, leaving you right where you started. It all adds up to a smooth user experience, that lets you focus on what you’re here for - making connections that grow your business - rather than on navigating a website.
Meanwhile, back in your inbox…things are looking pretty with what we’re calling “visual inbox.”
It’s amazing how simply adding photos of the member you’re corresponding with brings your inbox to life. That’s what we’ve done in the next release, and it feels a lot more like you’re having a conversation than exchanging email.
OK, that’s all for today. Tomorrow, I’ll introduce you to the killer app that underlies everything else in Biznik 2.0: localization.
Biznik business networking Seattle social media social network websiteSee TIME Magazine Photographer Gregory Heisler here in Seattle on May 29
Biznik member James Anderson forwarded this announcement to me this morning, about an event that a lot of the photographers (and photography lovers) among us will find interesting. Bonus: he’s offering $5 off the ticket price for Biznik members.
photography portrait Seattle timeGregory Heisler is a New York-based photographer who is renowned for his technical mastery and thoughtful responsiveness. His enthusiasm, curiosity, and drive are manifested in his hands-on approach to all aspects of the image making process.
His iconic portraits and innovative essays have often graced the covers and pages of many magazines, including LIFE, ESQUIRE, GENTLEMEN’S QUARTERLY, GEO, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, ESPN, and THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE, yet he is perhaps best known for his more than seventy TIME cover portraits. He has also photographed advertising campaigns for such clients as American Express, Benson & Hedges, Dewar’s, Merrill Lynch, Nike, and Zocor.
Private portrait commissions are another important focus of Gregory’s work. The first photographic portrait for New York’s City Hall was his lithographic print of Mayor Edward I. Koch. The New York Public Library followed suit, commissioning a portrait of Marshall Rose which is presently exhibited in the Library’s Main Branch at Forty-second Street and Fifth Avenue. Most recently, New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg commissioned a portrait by Gregory which now hangs in the atrium of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland.
As a sought-after speaker and educator, Gregory has taught at the International Center of Photography, the New School for Social Research, The School of Visual Arts (Master of Fine Arts Program), Parsons School of Design, The Smithsonian Institution (Masters of Still Photography Series), and the National Geographic Society, as well as scores of workshops and seminars throughout the country and overseas.
Among the kudos he has received are the Alfred Eisenstadt Award, and the Leica Medal of Excellence. Gregory has been profiled in AMERICAN PHOTO, COMMUNICATION ARTS, ESQUIRE, LIFE, and numerous industry periodicals.
Seattle Pacific University Otto Miller Hall 3469 Third Avenue West
http://www.spu.edu/info/buildings/omh/$5 for ASMP Members
$10 for Biznik members
$15 for non membersThe details:
Where: Seattle Pacific University- Otto Miller Hall
When: 05/29/2007 at 6:00 PM
Address: 3469 Third Avenue West
Seattle, WA
Eschfest
Member Adam Rappaport sent this to me recently, and I’m posting it here because there a lot of people who new Nathan in Seattle’s indie business community, who will want to know about this.
Many of us knew Nathan Esch. Many more knew of him - he was the beloved member of our community that died in a car crash at Fourth of Juplaya last Summer. Many may not know that he was a war veteran, and is survived by his two sons, his parents and siblings.
A weekend-long tribute and fund raiser will be held in July. We are currently gathering prize donations to make the raffle even more attractive and (hopefully) sell lots more tickets. We already have an LCD TV, a handcrafted table, massage certificates and much more, but the bigger and better the prizes the more money we can raise!
How can you help?
If you would like to support this cause, we would GREATLY appreciate prize donations. ALL proceeds from this event go directly to his family. This is a fantastic opportunity to promote your business and help a great cause.
Please e-mail playadoc(at)gmail(dot)com, join the Yahoo Group (nathanesch(at)yahoogroups(dot)com), or find more information on the site:
Thanks!
Sierra Faye: Massage Freek
One of the things I hate about a lot of businesses is how scrubbed clean they are of any hint of personality. In their effort to avoid scaring off any potential customers, they bury their individuality so deep that it’s almost impossible to tell whether they ever had one in the first place. But Sierra Faye, I’m happy to report, does not have this problem. She’s a massage therapist, and a self-described freak, so what better name for her business than, well, Massage Freek? Let’s find out how one of Biznik’s original members (who we’re thrilled to have as a principal sponsor of BizJam) turned her passion for massage and self-expression into a business.
How did you come up with the name of your business?
The name Massage Freek came to me like a bolt of lightning from the sky. I had just been fired and I was sick of being told what to do in work environments about how to dress and how to act and what things I could or could not say
I knew that I wanted to work with “my people.” and by that I mean people that are living lifestyles that are very much not normal (but awesome, in my opinion). Some examples are: swingers, polyamorous, kink/fetish lifestyles as well as people from the Burning Man community and essentially free-thinking and open-minded individuals. I figured a name like Massage Freek would be great for attracting people that would want to see someone who shares the same way of life. I also thought Massage Freek, as a name, would act as a natural filter for people that wouldn’t be comfortable with me, my lifestyle, my opinions and expressions… And thus be uncomfortable receiving massage from me. Why try to attract just anyone, right? Might as well attract and focus my marketing on people who would be more likely to come to me not for my excellent massage skills but my wonderful, charming and freaky personality.
How long have you been a massage therapist?
I have been doing this work since I graduated from the Brian Utting School of Massage in December of 2000. I wanted to be a massage therapist since I was eleven or so. Over six years in practice now.
There’s a lot of massage therapists in Seattle. How do you stand out?
I stand out … because I’m nuts! No … all massage therapists are nuts, in my humble opinion.
I think I stand out for a few pretty powerful reasons:
I have been practicing for longer than most of the therapists out there. I know there are many that have been around longer than me, but most LMP’s stop practicing after about 2-3 years.
I am very good at what I do… Lots of experience, lots of hours doing not much else but intense injury treatment and problem solving… Improving the quality of people’s lives thru the treatment of pain in their bodies,
I consistently have clients report significant improvement thru my massages. I have found that my massage has a tendency to be more effective and have longer-lasting effects than the therapists that most of my clients have used.
I think the way I stand out the most is being openly kinky, poly, swinger and burner. I think that most people, especially in my profession, are VERY hesitant to disclose much of any of their personal life, much less integrate it as a selling point and a quality that provides deeper healing.
I have found that in sharing my personal lifestyle and being open about being a rebel and a freak, people tend to relate to that because they have that in them. I think that me just being me and giving space to allow that sort of lifestyle and expression gives not only a safer place for freaks like me to get healed, but it also creates a new way of life at all. A bold and more open, accepting idea of what’s possible to experience in a work place. I think I stand out because I’m a rebel amongst my peers and most of them are actually pretty supportive of my uber-open behavior and presentation. I think showing full true self allows people to know that they can be their own true self as well.. And in that… I don’t even have to touch them or have them as a client… They are healed just by observing and having a different idea of what’s possible.
Has Biznik helped you build your business? How?
Of course! Biznik was god’s gift to me… I know that sounds funny but.. I think it’s just “too perfect” that you and Lara came up with Biznik at the exact same time I was starting to do Massage Freek promotion.
I remember just trying to figure how the heck I was going to get in front of people – in a larger scale way than one on one or at parties - that would grow my business with people that would be likely to hire me.
The cool thing was that you guys hit your friends first and they are a bunch of burners so HEY! Target market!
And because the energy of biznik is (duh) for business, it kept me focused on growing my business as you were growing the influence of Biznik. I wanted to be in the minds of the badass people that were not only open-minded and free thinking but also strong in their entrepreneurial mojo.
In short, it was your target audience that was also my target audience. As you have grown, so have I. I feel comfortable “getting more visible” with this crowd. Once I have this experience of rising to the top of a general pool of people, I figure it will give me the personal power and strength to strut my stuff in front of other groups of business networkers and entrepreneurs and not be afraid of what they think.
Any advice you’d give to anyone starting a business?
Advice for anyone starting a business… DO IT. Be free from your job because self-employment is way more secure than a job.
Don’t give up – it can get hard. Take care of yourself – don’t let yourself fall into patterns of overworking. Take advantage of your open schedule. Ask for help. Don’t be afraid to spend money on consultation, self-care and the tools you need to get your work done. Do your work in an environment that you like and that feels good. Take yourself seriously but not too seriously. Keep your word, keep your appointments don’t be a flake. But if you flake, don’t waste your time trying to get someone to trust you again… The trust is broken. Just move on and try to just get more clients and don’t flake out on them. Do what you love. Take breaks so that you don’t get burned out. Know that you will hit walls, you will get sad, you will cry and you will feel that worry of “am I gonna make it or not.”
You will have to go through all sorts of self-healing and confrontation of worth issues, integrity issues and you’ll have to confront the places where you are not good at some of the aspects of running your business. Just keep going. Be clear that what you are selling, practicing or creating is truly an expression of your heart, mind and soul. These things have helped me. I don’t know if they apply to everyone but they might apply to several. I hope that something I said helps.
Sierra Faye’s website is www.massagefreek.com. Her office is located in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.
1 CommentIs Your Business Stuck in a Pigeon Fight?
I was walking home from breakfast yesterday when I saw two burly city pigeons pecking the heck out of each other on the sidewalk in front of me. The fight was fast and brutal. I recoiled at the *fwoop, fwoop* sounds as these two (forgive me) feather-weights battered each other with their wings and stabbed at each other’s jugulars with their sharp pigeon beaks. If I were a small, pigeon-loving child I’m sure it would have made me cry.
As I watched these gray-mottled warriors lunge at each other for round 2, I wondered, what was it that could have caused such an epic pigeon prize fight? An abandoned piece of rustic artesian bread? The affections of a particularly comely female pigeon? The sad realization that these pigeons were, err, pigeons, doomed to live short and meaningless pigeon lives?
I mean, there had to be a good reason that these pigeons were suddenly going for the throat. . .didn’t there? Didn’t there?
Finally the fight broke off and both pigeons (the gray one on the left and the . . .err . . .gray one on the right) launched themselves back up into the air and settled onto the awning of the supermarket. I caught the eye of one of them as he flapped his way up and what I saw there explained everything.
*Because in the eyes of that pigeon I saw nothing but simple, frustrated confusion.*
That pigeon had *no idea* why it had just been in a fight. It had *no idea* what it had just put its life on the line for. And it had *no idea* what it was going to do to make sure it never got into a situation like that again.
*Which is sort of like what a lot of businesses do with their marketing.*
They go hard charging into a market and peck at their competitors throats, fighting to the death over a few scraps of business. Money’s spent. Blood is drawn and when all is said and done, all you’ve got is two beat up and confused pigeons struggling to stay in business.
*Which to my way of thinking, is kind of dumb.*
Over on the Biznik Manifesto (http://biznik.com/about/manifesto.html) I wrote that “Competition is an old myth made up by old men with old ideas and no imagination. There’s work out there–big gobs of it–plenty to make all of us fat and happy and (if we eat too much) probably a little tired.”
Which I really feel like extends out to business in general. I mean, sure, Coke and Pepsi go to war on the airwaves every night, spending huge gobs of money in a desperate fight for market share.
But smart business folks, agile business folks and successful business folks who don’t have million dollar ad budgets know that if you want to *win* a pigeon fight, you’ve got to find a way to avoid getting into that pigeon fight in the first place.
How?
By doing the not-so-hard work of positioning your business, finding a broad niche to explore and realizing that the next guy down the power line isn’t a *threat* to your business, he’s a potential partner who can help you get your fill of all the day old bread you can eat.
(And if that’s not a weirdly stretched metaphor, I don’t know what is.)
That’s it for now folks. You can check out the HWW archives lovingly kept on the HWW Blog (http://www.haddadink.com/blog). And if you need to know more about me, head on over to Haddadink.com.
How did you hear about Biznik?
With the launch date for Biznik 2.0 getting closer by the day, I’ve been thinking about things to add and things to leave out. (We’ll be launching it just prior to BizJam on June 9th - yes, really I mean it this time). One of the things I was thinking of leaving out was the “how did you hear about Biznik” field, because I thought people didn’t use it very much. But when I actually queried the database, I was blown away when I discovered 48 percent of Biznik members have provided an answer. The results are very interesting, and I’d like to share them with you:
How did you hear about Biznik?
Not really any big surprises here - Biznik is spreading almost completely by word of mouth, between friends. After that, it’s Google that’s performing the introductions. One surprise for me was that Lara and I have been slightly more effective than blogs at spreading the word about Biznik (although those numbers are probably skewed toward when we first started Biznik and told everyone we knew about it). Print media, not surprisingly, barely registers on the chart because so far, Biznik has been virtually ignored by mainstream media.
One of the things that doesn’t appear in the numbers is the number of people who noted that they had heard about Biznik from multiple sources before they made the move to sign up. Which confirms something I’ve always suspected - word of mouth works particularly well only if you hear it from more than one person.
Perhaps the most common way that people find Biznik within the Web search category is while searching for friends, and the first thing that pops up is the friend’s Biznik profile. A common answer is: “Googling for someone else!” In those cases, I credited the connection to Google, rather than the friend. But it gets kind of blurry sometimes, as with this response to how someone heard about Biznik:
“My best friend, Google!”
Google is certainly Biznik’s best friend when it comes to search engines, with members crediting it 125 times by name. By contrast, Yahoo was mentioned only 7 times, and MSN just 3 times.
Here’s some more of my favorite responses:
- “Google - I typed in ‘business networking’ and finally found something that didn’t seem cheesy. “
- “Atmospheric vibration.”
- “Browsing the web looking for networking that doesn’t suck!”
- “From someone with style and class, but I can not for the life of me remember who it was.”
- “Sticker stuck to my forehead at Tost.”
- “I once licked Dan’s nipple.”
- “ML was laying down some phat beats one night at a party when Dan whispered (okay, yelled) something in my ear. I was just about to slap that dirty bastard in the face when I realized it was something about a business network for revolutionaries. Sorry, Dan!”
- “I was surfing the web for ‘business networking.’ Found a link which led me to Biznik. That was a good day.”
- “I searched Google for Seattle networking events. I was led to another website that had a listing for an event Biznik was sponsoring/holding. I said to myself - ‘Dude, Mike, you gotta do this’, so I did.”
- “The voices in my head told me about it.”
And my all-time favorite:
“I was kidnapped one Saturday while traveling through Costa Rica by a female motorcycle gang calling themselves the Thundering Biznikas.”
So, how did you hear about Biznik? Do these stats match your experience?
Biznik business networking Google search Seattle word of mouthMeet me at BizJam widgets available for download now
If you’ll be attending Biznik’s largest event of the year - BizJam - on June 9th, here’s a badge that you can install in the sidebar of your blog or website to help promote the event. Just cut and paste the code below. It’s sized to fit into any sidebar, and links to the Seattle BizJam website, so that visitors to your site can learn more about Biznik’s largest event of the year. Thanks for helping spread the word about this fantastic event.
Copy and paste this:
bizjam conference indie Seattle
BizJam keynote speaker Scott Berkun has a book release party for his new book, Myths of Innovation, tonight at McLeod Residence
Scott Berkun’s book, The Myths of Innovation, is hot off the press, and you’re invited to the book launch party this evening, where you’ll be among the first people in the world to have an opportunity to see and buy the book. The party happens Thursday at 7:30pm at The McLeod Residence. Here’s the schoop from Scott:
When a book is first off the presses it’s time for celebration - So to kick off the the release of my new book is this little shindig.
The great folks at the McLeod Residence (an art gallery and much much more) are letting me use part of their space, and you’re invited.
Where: McLeod Residence, 2209 2nd ave Seattle
When: Thursday May 10th, 7:30pm
What: Food, drinks, and books for sale (cash/check only)
Cost: Free and open to the public
Why: First chance anywhere in the world to see and buy the new book, have a drink, eat some free food, and say Hi.
Check out Wanda Benvenutti’s photography opening tonight at OseaO Gallery for a peek at her huge Puerto Rican project
If you’re not able to make the Biznik Indie Business Happy Hour tonight but are on Capitol Hill, here’s another Biznik option for you: Photojournalist Wanda Benvenutti has an opening this evening at Oseao Gallery. She has been working on a huge project to document Puerto Rican life in the United States, and the show will feature a taste of her work in progress for that project. Wanda used to work for the Seattle Times, and is a very accomplished photographer, so you won’t be disappointed if you can make it.
Tuesday May 8, 2007
6-10pm Opening Reception“Abstract Boricua”
The paintings of Michele Barkley
The Photojournalism of Wanda Benvenutti from her upcoming book:
American Boricua: Puerto Rican Life in the United StatesLocation:
Capitol Hill, 14th Avenue near E. Pike Street.OseaO Gallery/The Electric Tea Garden
1402 E Pike St Seattle, WA 98122
Sterling Peake: Every business needs a plan
Sterling Peake is one of Biznik’s newest supporting members, and already she’s posted two upcoming events in the calendar. One of the things that struck me immediately when reading her profile and looking at her business’s website, www.greenpawstudios.com, was this: Sterling is on a mission. She knows where she’s heading with her business, and she’s executing on what looks like … a plan. And in fact, when I interviewed her, I discovered that not only does she have a plan, but it’s an award-winning plan. So join me while we learn more from Sterling about her plans…
Q: I read a little about how you started Green Paws on your website, greenpawstudios.com (which is very impressive, by the way). Something that stood out right away was that you won a $10,000 award to start your company. Can you tell me about how that happened?
I’ve been competing in business plan competitions since I was a freshman in high school. It’s a great way to win money and also to understand the big picture of business. You’re forced to step out of your comfort zone whether that be designing, advertising, finance or operations to really understand how the entire business model works. If motivation is difficult, sign up for a local business plan competition. Not only will you get structure for deadlines and an opportunity to win money, you’ll also get excellent feedback from the venture capital judges.
Q: Which do you recommend locally in the greater Seattle area?
The NWEN puts on an event each year called Early Stage Investment Forum and although there’s no prize money, because of their mentoring program for four weeks, you will have a very polished plan and a strong idea of what investors are looking for. UW, WSU and U of O all offer competitions and there are more on this site: www.smallbusinessnotes.com.
Q: I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that you have a passion for dogs. Do you think that it’s important for everyone starting a business to be passionate about it?
I do have a passion for dogs but more than that I have a passion for helping people and creating strong brand identities. I just finished a business plan about umbrellas that is an outstanding investment opportunity and I don’t even own an umbrella! Some people love business for the sake of loving business but having a passion and deep understanding of your product and service can get you a long way even if you don’t have a formal business background.
Q: Sounds like you’ve got a lot of interests. Something I’ve noticed about a lot of entrepreneurial types is that they are idea people - but not so good at executing on their ideas and doing the work required to bring them to life. How do you do things like building brand identities for other people while building running Green Paws?
I made a special exception and did consulting for some friends of mine on their project as long as they let me enter it in the Seattle University competition. I’m presenting tomorrow - eek! It is not something I do often as I don’t usually have the time. You are right though, there is often a huge disconnect between the ideas people and the ones who want to do the day-to-day work. There are ways you can overcome this by setting goals and boundaries as well as hiring someone who is good at the stuff you hate doing. It might be true that many well-intentioned “entrepreneurs” should be in consulting so they can come up with new ideas all the time without having to deal with the drudge of follow-through. The people ideal for starting their own companies are addicted to working. They have the ideas and put in the blood, sweat and tears to make it happen.
Q: You are very up-front about being a Triple Bottom Line business. Why? And I’m also curious why you decided to donate 10 percent of your profits to local organizations.
There is no way around it - business is built on the surrounding community and environment. You may be able to get by without acknowledging them in your financials but you will reach your goals much faster if you employ them in your operations. Throw local events, donate money to non-profits, give away your products and services. You will be amazed at what the planet and your neighbors can do to help you. For me, 10% of my profits and 10% of my time not only keeps me sane by giving me the opportunity to help people but it also builds my business with the kind of people I want involved.
Q: Do you think it’s important for everyone with an indie business to write a business plan?
I think it’s important for anyone with a business to write a business plan. Again it’s so you can understand all aspects of the business but also so you have a clear idea of what your goals are and what you need to do to get there. Joe Shirley, who often gives workshops for BizNikers, can help you set your personal and emotional life goals. This sometimes needs to happen before you can write an honest and effective business plan. Planning is always a good idea and asking for input refines your ideas into winning business models. I encourage everyone to sit down and pencil the next three years out.
Sterling Peake runs Green Paws Studios, a dog training and boarding facility in Seattle. Her website is www.greenpawstudios.com.
Biznik business plan green business Seattle triple bottom linePageRank, profile optimization, and the coolest guy in Seattle
I have the Google tool bar installed on my web browser, so every time I visit a web page, I can see immediately what its PageRank is. A quick over-simplified background for those of you unfamiliar with the term: PageRank is a number from 0-10 that Google assigns to web pages to measure their relative importance. The higher the number, the more weight Google gives that page. And even though it’s just one of many factors, it continues to provide the basis for all Google web search tools. So you can imagine how excited I was when I visited Biznik.com today and noticed that it’s now sporting a page rank of 6! (Previously, Biznik.com had a PageRank of 4).
How did Biznik jump two notches like that? Well, we have Thomas Schmitz to thank for that. Biznik’s resident SEO expert emailed me out of the blue a couple months ago, pointing out a problem with the way our URLS were formed. But more than that, he actually included the lines of code I needed to add to fix the problem in his email. How’s that for cool? (In case you’d like to know what that fix was, and how you can implement it, too, check out Thomas’s Search Marketing JamSession at BizJam on June 9th). Oh, and if you’re thinking of hiring Thomas to do SEO for you, you can’t - he just announced today that he took a full-time gig with Seattle internet marketing firm Portent Interactive. Congratulations Thomas.
But as cool as Thomas is, he isn’t the coolest guy in Seattle. At least not according to Google. That honor goes to Biznik’s newest supporting member, Erik Sjaastad. Try the search for yourself to see how truly cool he is!
How did Erik become the coolest guy in Seattle? He created a Biznik profile (and became a supporting member, which makes him very cool in my book). Then, he chose the words “coolest guy in Seattle” as his job title. Then he sat back and waited for the magic to happen.
“It was a fun prank to pull on all of my friends,” Erik says. “I sent out a text saying “Google coolest guy in seattle” and then my phone and email lit up. You’re right about the Biznik profile having a lot of weight.”
So, Biznikers, how are you using that weight to get you and your business noticed?
Google internet marketing optimization pagerank profile search seo social networking