Biznik Blog

When Brian Rauschenbach of Add Three asked Biznik to host a day stage for the first Seattle Interactive Conference, it was easy to say yes.

Brian is a hugely talented entrepreneur and is responsible for Biznik’s massive SEO resulting in members’ high search results through their Biznik profiles.

He holds a bold vision, and I knew whatever he was up to was going to be cool. I just didn’t know how cool – I don’t think he even knew – how could he?

Admittedly, I feel smug about the speakers I have amassed for the Biznik stage and the panel. Everyone I wanted, I got.  Half of them must be flown in from another state. Each of them has a unique tale to spin about entrepreneurism and interactivity, and how to use interactivity to help you in your business.

Derek Halpern is responsible for managing all of the marketing efforts for the world-class Thesis Theme Framework. Prior to that, he was “behind the scenes” of several popular blogs, one of which attracted more than 1,000,000 views in a single day. Derek has done a lot of stuff right. (Like Webinar Bridge.) I’m sure he’s had his share of mess-ups too, which is probably why his perspective on content and design are so darned practical and useful.

Chris Pearson is the creator of the Thesis Theme Framework for WordPress which has over 40,000 users and is the backbone for hundreds of thousands of websites. Chris is passionate about design, and reducing the friction that people have around creating beautiful web sites with the sleek and easy to use Thesis Theme.

10 years as an award-winning TV copywriter crafting ads for national brands we interact with daily (i.e. Wheaties®, Gatorade® and Jell-O®) ultimately landed Colleen Wainwright, aka The Communicatrix, into the indie role of teaching other creative souls how to talk about what they do in a way that wins them attention, work and satisfaction and the rest of it horsing around on the Internet. Coming from the far hills of Los Angeles, I know Colleen through Biznik. I basically want to be like her when I grow up. Which means I better get cracking. She just turned 50, in just about the coolest way possible. You will learn all about it during her presentation.

Michelle Broderick is scary smart, and funny. As one of the marketing and community-building geniuses at Yelp, she was single-handedly responsible for painting cities in hundreds of thousands of “People Love us on Yelp!” stickers. I remember when I first met her I began scheming up ways that I could call her the next day so I work with her on something, anything!

I met Jason Reid at a Social Media Club Seattle event. He was on a panel with some other super talented folks talking about video and the web. Seattlites may recognize him for his Webby Award-winning documentary Sonicsgate: Requiem for a Team (2009). His approach to business of making film is inventive grass-rootsy, which means that he gets what it takes to make things happen without a ton of money.

Adam Brown co-wrote and produced Sonicsgate with Jason Reid. His brilliant media campaign for the Sonicsgate movement, utilizes both traditional and social media to build a loyal following. My jaw-dropped when I heard of the results he obtained. He is passionate about engaging with his audience in a motivational and ruckus-making way.

REGISTER for SIC NOW!
But wait… Don’t forget the panel too…

Winning Your Brand, a Panel

You could walk around town with a hot iron stamping everyone you think is your customer. But that will not do your business a lot of good, nor will it gain you more customers. Winning your brand takes hard work, patience, clarity and skill. The panelists here know how to do it, and they are going to share their knowledge with you. Hosted by the king of deep thinking, Warren Etheredge of The Warren Report.

Brian and I came up with this idea for a panel when I shared with him the type of people that I would be interested in bringing to the table. He noted that all of them were leaders in communicating their brands. After some preliminary discussions with these folks, it was clear that there was a lot more to share in a discussion around brand, and whether or not it is something that can even be won.

Known inside the Biznik community as the host of the Biznik Innovators Series, our panel is moderated by Warren Etheredge. To get a taste of Warren before SIC, grab an episode of Warren’s show The High Bar. I highly recommend it. It does indeed, raise the bar. Viewer beware, it will challenge you to change your world view – for the better.

Jennifer Shea has covered a lot of ground in three years with her successful cupcake business, Trophy Cupcakes and Party. For a city with several cupcake shops in it, differentiating yourself is important, find out what branding techniques Jennifer used.

Debra Music is the co-founder of the miraculously delicious and fair-trade dedicated, Theo Chocolate. She is the best person to share how brand has played a role at Theo, and what their vision is for the future.

I wish I recorded my introductory conversation with Andrew Corey regarding brand and KEXP. He has some profound insights that will help you frame how you see your business.

I have been drinking this guys beer since the second I stepped into this town from Chicago. Manny Chao exemplifies hard work, ingenuity and killer instinct.

$100 in your pocket

Don’t feel bummed on November 4 when everyone’s talking about how stellar the conference, networking and after parties were.

Take advantage of the great Biznik offer — $100 off your ticket when you register with code: biznik2011.

And do not miss the deeply insightful Lara Feltin who will be presenting at the conference November 3 at 3:15pm.

Lara Feltin does not miss a beat. She is thourough, detailed, funny, and dedicated to perfection; she wants you to be better than you are. I’m not just saying that because she is my  CEO at the popular business networking site Biznik, I know it to be true down to my bones. If you want to scale how you engage with your peers, in order to drive more business your way, then Lara Feltin will enlighten you on to how to do it.

Biznik was created 6 years ago with small a group of friends sharing resources and passing business.

It has turned into a global community of entrepreneurs sharing resources and passing business.

Recently, we realized that connecting entrepreneurs is great and all, but there wasn’t enough focus on the real reason we’re here — turning those connections into business — both for ourselves, and for the people in our networks.

Biznik is going to change all of that!

We’re launching a whole new Biznik. “Biznik 3” sharpens the focus with a tool created to help you manage the relationships you have with your business allies — the ones who you want to send business, and the ones who send you business.

The outcome: mountains of referrals from your allies, and from the people who trust them.

Everything you know and like about Biznik already exists to make this happen now, we’re just going to make it easier for you to do it in the future.

In anticipation of a major blowout launch I need something from you.

You’re one of our most important users. Because you are reading this post, you care enough about this community to help craft the outcome.

• How do you get referrals from other business owners?

• If you were convinced that giving referrals added to the cosmic soup of business, how much time would you spend every week giving, in order to receive?

• What do you think would be the best tool for you to manage those referrals, so that you could generate more of them?

Let me know by making a comment

I want to know if you get referrals from your peers. (By peers, I mean other small business owners – that does not necessarily mean just within your industry, but all the people in your network that are also small business owners, and get what it takes to run a business.)

We are so close, help us bring this product over the finish line with your feedback as help.

I get it, it’s a little strange to talk to an audience of Bizniks about what to consider before starting a business; because you’ve already started your business. If you missed something, it’s a little late now. Besides, sometimes you’ve simply got to stop planning and start doing. I get that. Six years after founding Biznik, I still haven’t written the business plan. I’ve been busy building the business. (But this book is not another business plan book.)

Despite the contradiction, I invited Carol Roth, author of the New York Times Bestseller The Entrepreneur Equation as a guest in the Biznik Innovators Series anyway. Last night Carol and Warren Etheredge had an on-stage conversation about what you may have missed, and what you might want to pay attention to.

Whether you’re 6 months in, a year & a half in, or 6 years in, there’s still a lot to glean from this book.

If you’re 6 months in…
…check out Chapter 7: Business Ideas — Worth Almost as Much as the Paper They’re Written On. Ideas are cheap. Execution of those ideas, and the blood, sweat & tears that go into that execution is where the money’s at. If you’re only 6 months in, I’m guessing you still working some of that out.

I also recommend Chapter 8: There’s a Reason You Enjoy Your Hobby (Hint: It’s Not Work!) If your business is founded on your passion for your hobby, it’s not too late to take a long hard look at that, and see if your venture needs to morph into something else before you end up hating your hobby and cursing yourself for launching into self-employment.

If you’re a year & a half in…
…I hope you’re thinking seriously about some critical issues like cash flow and employees.

I recommend Chapter 17: Businesses Don’t Happen Overnight. “Impatience & business go together like a hungry tiger and a wounded bunny.” How are you doing with that? I also recommend Chapter 18: Do You Have the Core Competencies to a Santa or an Elf? I recently completed the Gallop Strengthfinder 2.0 assessment. Boy, did that cause some shifts in the ways I do things inside my business.

Thinking about hiring your first employee? Chapter 27: Employees — Dammed If you Do (or Don’t) Hire Them, shines a light on that topic. And how many of us keeping a tight watch on our cash flow? You deserve a special medal if you had that piece in place on Day 1. If you haven’t done that yet – it’s time to get to it. Check out Chapter 28: Sometimes “Cash Flow” Doesn’t Flow.

If you’re 6 years in…
…and you’re an old pro at this, then you’re probably approached by others with questions about their own business ideas. Carol has some sharp-witted and innovative answers to those questions. Heck, save you and your friend a little time. Send them a copy of The Entrepreneur Equation. Chapter 19: The “Secret” Is Hard Work and Chapter 26: People, Spaces & Things…What You Give Up When You Leave Your Job, will provide a running start to the conversation, before you meet. It might even save you an awkward conversation like it did for me.

I referred a friend to Chapter 25: The Business Version of Let’s Make a Deal: Is There Enough Upside to Justify All the Risks? before I sat down with her to hear about her business idea. My friend was working at a good job with a $100,000 salary. Had she thought about what it might mean to cut her income down to 1/3 of what she was accustomed to? Had she calculated how long it would take her gadget business to generate $300,000 in annual sales? Because that’s what’s required for her to take home $30,000 a year.

If you’re an entrepreneur, you need to read The Entrepreneur Equation. If you work with entrepreneurs or those thinking about becoming an entrepreneur, you need to read The Entrepreneur Equation. If you’re considering leaving your day job to join this tribe, you need to read The Entrepreneur Equation.

Just my $0.02.

I finished my last blog post with:

“Do something scary. Something that makes you gasp. When you succeed it will make the world a much better place for all of us.”

Marketing guru, Seth Godin made a stop in Seattle last week on his national Road Trip. In response to an audience member’s question, “What can we do for you, Seth?” he asked us to “do something scary”.

Continuing in the vein of The-Wisdom-of-Seth-Godin-on-the-Subject-of-Fear, my hubby Dan McComb shared this adage of Seth’s with me yesterday morning:

“Fear is an artist’s barometer. If you feel fear, it is an indicator that you’re doing the right thing. When you encounter the resistance (fear) it means you’ve found a challenge worthy of your attention.”

This was in the context of talking me down from the fear of something I was about to do that was wigging me out.

I make a goal of doing one frightening thing a week — the kind of thing that makes me a little nauseous, something I could gracefully walk away from without needing to save face. It generally works out to be 2-3 times a month. This week, I appeared on the Seattle Voices TV program. Ok, it might’ve been difficult to have gracefully declined that invitation without losing face because I’m a close acquaintance of the program’s host, Eric Liu. But I could’ve gracefully gotten a job instead of starting Biznik (which put me on the bloody radar of “voices” in Seattle that are worth listening to, in the first place.)

But it’s not the program. Seattle Voices is a conversation led by author and civic entrepreneur, Eric Liu — who’s not only BAH-rilliant, but someone who challenges the subjects he engages with. (Silly fear, I know. Eric’s harmless.)

At the root of it, is my fear of being recorded. I find being recorded scarier than public speaking. Sure my heart pounds right before I step on a stage, and I have to remind myself to slow down while I’m speaking, but once it’s over it’s over. That’s not the case with recorded interviews and presentations. Point a video camera at the stage, even your iPhone camera, and I’m a nervous wreck. If I mis-step, there’s no chance of it fading from the audience’s memory. They can press rewind and watch it again! (Yeah, yeah, it tells you something about me — being able to control my environment is important to me.)

My appearance on Seattle Voices had been in the works since last October. Partly due to some unavoidable rescheduling, but primarily due to my proposing dates for the show way-way-way in the future. I’ve known about the 6/28/11 taping for 4 months but I woke up nauseous yesterday anyway. Dan drove me to the taping and talked me down from my fear. He reminded me what Seth said, that fear is a sign that I’m doing something important.

Then I nailed it. I remembered to smile, and think of the whole question before reacting with a quick answer. I remembered to keep my responses short and concise. Most importantly, I remembered the number one rule in PR — talk about what you want to talk about. If you don’t have an answer to a particular question (or don’t want to answer it), steer your answer in the direction you want it to go.

I’d like a week to ten days before I repeat the intensity of that experience, but I’ll be looking for the next scary thing in another day or two because that’s how I like things to roll.

My friend, Melody Biringer, author and entrepreness-extraordinaire, says in her book ‘Craving Success’: “Fear is adrenaline wasted. Use that adrenaline to fuel your next big idea.” I use that adrenaline to incite creativity and force myself to take risks in my thinking. It’s when I’m most pumped that I explore the direction I’m taking the business, the service I’m offering the user, and the ways the users are interacting with the site.

What’s the last thing you did that scared the bajeezus out of you?
How often do you engage in that experience?
Are those experiences indicators that you’re doing the right thing?
How do you apply the adrenaline to fuel your creativity?

In an attempt to highlight the fact that good content comes from good authors, Google has begun to support an authorship markup for authors. In laymen’s terms: Google is now highlighting individual authors in its search returns.

Today we’re beginning to support authorship markup—a way to connect authors with their content on the web. We’re experimenting with using this data to help people find content from great authors in our search results. – Google Webasters

What does this mean for you, as an author? Not a ton, unless you are also a webmaster.

BUT, there is something you can do to help increase the likelihood that your content (particularly the articles you publish on Biznik) will appear in search results: update your Google profile.

Don’t have a Google Profile yet? It’s time to get one.

Once you have a Google Profile, it’s super easy to include a link to Biznik Profile. Doing so increase the likelihood that your Biznik article (and the status you’ve achieved as an author of a article published on Biznik) will appear prominently in Google’s new authorship markup.

We’ve already linked your Biznik articles to your Biznik profile, which strengthens the bond. Google needs this link to tie together the information it has on you and the subjects you write about. Now when someone searches for the topics you write about, Google will know to point to you!

You’ve spent time and energy publishing your articles on Biznik. Extend your reach. Help Google reveal your hard-earned relevance and expert status to others outside Biznik.

Seth Godin, the marketing guru, is currently touring the country on his Road Trip. If you get an opportunity to see him live, take it. If not, I’m sad for you, but it’s ok, his wealth of knowledge is well documented. Go to his site to learn more.

Only 200 people got the chance to see him in Seattle last week. I was one of them. You may not agree with everything Seth spouts. You make take offense at some of his word choices, I do. (Take his carefree use of the word “revolution”. People die in revolutions. The Arab Spring is a revolution.) But Seth is doing something that many others are not. He’s making stuff happen. And as a result, he’s motivating others. Considering there’s a lot of stuff to do and not enough people with the guts to do it, the world can use more motivators.

We were reminded that times are changing. We’re playing by different rules. We’re living in an era of extraordinary abundance. What’s scarce is people’s attention. In the old model, you could succeed by interrupting strangers. The more strangers you interrupted, the more sales you would make. In the new model, establishing trust earns you the privilege to sell. It’s being referred to as “permission marketing”. Let me emphasize that, because it’s important: establishing trust earns you the privilege to sell.

The company used to be the asset. Then the system, the assembly line and the brand. Trust and relationships are the new assets.

The goal is not to find more customers for your software, it’s to create better software for your customers. Let them talk about it and spread the word. Be the company that people would miss if it were gone.

I’m a fan of Seth Godin’s, so I recommend that everyone read at least one of his thirteen best sellers. But if you’re not sure when you will make time to read one, then do yourself a favor and subscribe to his daily blog.

Here’s a few of his adages from the day to whet your appetite:

“When you’re drawing a map, you’re going to be wrong some of the time. If you’re always right, you’re not drawing a map, you’re following one.”

“Artists give gifts not favors. Favors are transactions. Gifts bring people together. Transactions push people apart.”

(Start with a niche.) “Make the thing you’re the best at small enough so you can fill that role. After you’ve filled the role, make it bigger.”

And in response to an audience member’s question, “What can we do for you, Seth?” Seth replied with this…

“If you want to do something for me, do something scary. Something that makes you gasp. When you succeed it will make the world a much better place for all of us.”