Best Hubris

Yesterday, I was handed a business card. This isn’t unusual. In fact, I get them all the time, which may be what made this one stand out so much. It was laminated. At first, I thought, “What a great idea!” After all, getting your business card to stand out is a major goal of any entrepreneur. But, as always, it is important to look at all the angles.

What Do Your Clients Want

Again, standing out is your goal, but what do your clients or prospective clients want? Just because you are an Internet savvy technology hound who keeps all your contact information in a high-tech contact management system, doesn’t mean everyone is. Believe it or not, there are still a lot of businessmen and businesswomen out there who are old school. They keep their business cards in something you may of heard of called a Rolodex. The standard Rolodex punch probably has enough umpph to get through a laminated card, but I’m not certain everyone would try, and unlike you, they don’t want your card sticking out like a sore thumb when they go flipping through. A different color, or a bright graphic is fine, but a plastic card is like those stupid ads in magazines that keep you from flipping through. If it’s irritating enough, they’ll yank it and toss it.

One person I talked to said they didn’t care about these kind of people. After all, if they weren’t more savvy than that, he didn’t want their business. Um…Hello? If you were going to bet your house against the age of a random senior manager at a Fortune 1000 company, would you bet over 45 or under? Me, too. Young and hip is cool, but older still has more of the power.

What about your tech savvy clients? Does your thick laminated card fit through the business card scanner they use? Does it feed properly? Does it scan, or does the light get reflected?

Then, there are those who are power users of business cards, like to keep them in business card holders. First, in a small one in their pocket, and then in some sort of binder. Your laminated card might be just big enough not to fit, or to make the premium leather holder they spend a pretty penny on not close properly. So, they throw it in a bag or briefcase where it gets lost forever.

Finally, you have people like me. I like to jot a note down on a business card sometimes. It might just be a reminder of who they are, or where I met them. Sometimes, it’s even more important, maybe the name of the product I should be looking at, or a price, or a local supplier. Either way, if I can’t quickly write it on the business card, then, I’ll probably just try and remember. I don’t want to take those odds.

How To Stand Out Good

Having the business card stand out is most definitely a good goal, but there are better ways to do it. Color is a great way. You can write, scan, file, on cards of most any color. Slightly nicer paper or embossing are good ideas too. Also, take advantage of all that space on the back. A quick tip, or link to a web site, or something else your clients will find useful can all improve the common business card.

For Mr. Laminated, I remember the card, so good job. The only problem is, I don’t think I have it around here anymore…

Here is why I do business consulting and business coaching. I get an email today from Microsoft. I attended an event not long ago for their CRM product. Truth be told, I’m doing just fine with Zoho right now, so we’ll call it good. But, they were offering a free license of Office 2007 Professional, and cheap software is a good thing. In order to register I gave them an email address, so here we are.

Invited to Microsoft Small Business Center

The email invited me to take a look around the Microsoft Small Business Center. At first glance, this thing looks chock-full of useful information. A few minutes clicking, however, reveals something a little different.

First, you never know which clicks go to real useful information, and which clicks take you to a page where the “solution” is a 60-day trial of some Microsoft product. Unless you don’t have a word processor, it is doubtful that the solution to any of your business issues is a product. Chances are a product could help you, but it won’t be the solution.

Second, even if the click does take you to information and not an infomercial, the information isn’t exactly “wow” material. Take “5 Ways to Create a Media Kit,” for example. A media kit is a critical resource in getting the word out about your small business, especially if you are in a higher-end service business where your target market isn’t likely to respond to form letters or cold calls. So, information on 5 ways to create a media kit would be most welcome.

Create a Media Kit

Here are the so-called 5 ways to create a media kit.

1. Cover the conventional basics.
2. Choose brand-appropriate, consistent packaging.
3. Decide on digital and print options.
4. Include a call to action.
5. Stay timely.

Um, that’s not even one way to create a media kit. Those are five hints you might want to keep in mind when creating a media kit, but that is a far cry from 5 ways to create a media kit.

Really Create a Media Kit

As part of our business coaching we cover various forms of marketing and one of the key forms of marketing is a media kit. Our information includes how to actually create a media kit, not breeze platitudes. Our advice involves choosing a format, usually a file folder or presentation book depending upon the industry. Then, it involves how many pages to include, and what should be on each page. It also includes formatting examples, and things like whether or not to include some sort of coupon, sample, or give-away, depending on your industry. We help with design and offer feedback and tips. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t include any advice on staying timely, so they got us there. Of course, after reading that one sentence, I think you know everything you need to know about timely-ness.

Real Solutions for the Real World

There are successful professionals out there who don’t need fluffy hand holding advice. What they need is the prospective of a fellow business professional that has seen things they haven’t seen and tried things they haven’t tried. We provide that tangible real world consulting or coaching to our clients. That’s what separates us from the pack.

I was thinking, for some reason, this morning about the movie Catch Me If You Can, with Leonardo Di Caprio and Tom Hanks. In the movie, Leonardo’s character impersonates a lawyer. In order to do so he has to pass the state bar exam. This is the only thing that Tom Hanks’ character can’t figure out. Leo finally tells him that he just studied for two weeks and passed. My wife is a lawyer and is dubious of that claim.

Be that as it may, I have always been able to learn things from books. I learn them so well, that I can retain most of it and can therefore pass tests pretty well too. I got a certification in Netware back in the day, having never touched the product (just read the study book). I also got a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) certification without taking any of the classes. More recently, I was able to get my Certified Financial Planner (CFP) certification by just taking the “accelerated” courses my firm offered. The “regular” course of study is over 3 years and the accelerated took just 12 months. The catch is that I quit before we finished, so I did the last 3 classes on my own. Although I signed up for online training I never did anything but read the books they sent me and do the practice questions. I passed the first time out. The failure rate on that test is something like 45% and over 50% for first timers, so it’s nothing to sneeze at.

Business Coaching & Business Consulting, but no paper skills

The reason this is intriguing to me is that we offer business and management consulting and coaching. What makes us different is that our techniques and procedures are very much grounded in real world tangible every day skills whereas most others offering similar services seem to work with much more “soft” skills. For example, a manager getting the advantage of our coaching gets real tips on how to manage his people. After all, this is what being a manager is all about. When I say “real tips,” I mean actual language that can be used to diffuse a situation or actual disciplinary actions that should be taken and so on. Others ofter “team building” or “goal setting.” Don’t get me wrong, we do that too, but that is where we start, not where we end.

So, what is the deal with the movie? Despite the experience and skills that we bring to the table, and the much more useful and sought after techniques we use, we don’t necessarily have the kinds of things that certain people look for on paper. For example, my experience comes from consulting and contracting in dozens of companies and seeing many management styles and many failed business strategies. But, my degree is in Biochemistry, and my only job title that matches the service is my current one. (I’ve done plenty of this type of thing before, but my title was always something more technical.) So, to certain people (usually those who have never met us, but who have to sign off on the request) it doesn’t look like we have the proper stature. Enter the CPA.

CPA = Big Paper Skills

The CPA exam is a multi-part exam which has multiple study guides availible for it. I don’t know everything, but I know plenty about business, math, taxes, and so on. I’m not saying I already know everything, but I do have a very firm grounding in the concepts. Using the aforementioned learning from reading skill, I’m confident I can pass the CPA exams and then put on that piece of paper that I have not only real world experience, but also that I am a Certified Public Accountant. I’ve got some research to do, but hopefully this is something I can make happen in between my four businesses, the book I want to write, the products I want to market, and …

So, I keep seeing people called Serial Entrepreneurs. A Serial Entrepreneur is someone who starts up a business, gets is going, sells it, or lets it run on auto-pilot and then starts a new business. I recently quit working for the man, and when I did I started a freelance writing business. Then, I started a personal finance web site, partially to help develop writing samples for the freelance writing business. Then, I started this site, and a parenting web site specifically for Dads on the same day. I also registered a domain name for my next business (still in development) on that day. While we were at it, I decided that I had a lot to offer the business community in the form of management and professional consulting and coaching. I have a list of domain names in a text file waiting for that one. Interestingly enough, while searching for those domain names, another business idea popped into my head that better fit one of the domain names than the original idea did. My frustration at finding good solid detailed information, and not just a couple of little keyword heavy articles with an offer to buy an ebook or whatever, led me to come up with an idea for a much better search engine that the ones we have today (watch out Google!).

Mind you, I haven’t built that first business up all the way yet. In my mind it still can be more than it is today and I’m going to get it there. However, I can’t wait on these other ideas. They rattle around in my brain begging for my attention. These are flights of fancy that fade with time, they are ideas that won’t go away, and as I start to work on them, the potential just seems bigger and better, and I want to pursue them more. So, what is the problem? Well, frankly, I’m out of hours in the day. Some day the answer will be to bring on partners or employees or whatever, but right now, it’s just me. Don’t get me wrong, I love it. The passion and energy is something that I’ve been missing during my “9 to 5″ years, and I am glad to have it. It’s just that I’m starting to think that Serial Entrepreneurs are wimps. No offense.

Long live the Explosive Entrepreneur. (Mental note, register explosiveentrepreneur.com and outline book for same…here we go again.)

You can remember a lot of firsts in your life: the first time you rode a bike, the first time you kissed a girl/boy, the first time you got arrested. The list could go on. Until very recently however, I had forgotten my first business. Maybe it is because it was so short lived and ended with out anything to show for it. You see, I was once on the cutting edge of the Internet. It’s true. I started using the Internet in college when there was no such thing as a browser. Back then, Internet meant Unix command line, and it meant anonymous FTP. Finding something out there was a combination of luck and networking.

I used the first browser on Windows when you had to install Winsock (the TCP/IP protocol) manually because TCP/IP didn’t come with Windows, all you got was NetBEUI (known throughout the computer world as NetKablooey).

Anyway, my first business was a startup to design and implement web pages for local businesses. How good of timing was it? Well, let’s just say it was 1997 and I had to explain to most people what the heck the Internet was and why in the world they would even care. Most people I talked to couldn’t get it. “So it’s like TV?” (If you ever get bored, read the first Internet cases to come before the Supreme Court and laugh your butt off at their questions as they try and understand it.) So, I was there perfectly poised to be on the front edge of the Internet boom. Just a small business with 50 clients would have been snatched up for a $1 million. So what happened? Well, I never got going. You see, selling web sites is no different than selling anything else. You have to talk to the people you want to sell to. I had one business where I had an “in” because I knew a guy working with them. I spent a week building up my courage and practicing what I would say. Every time I looked at the phone I got major butterflies in my stomach. When I finally called and they didn’t say “YES! That would be AMAZING!” on the first call, I hung up and never called back. I never called anyone else either.

The point of this is simple. If you are going to go into business you have to be able to sell. These days, I need never pick up the phone. I can do fine just responding to posts and ads, and so on. But, to be big, to make the big bucks I’ve always dreamed of will take a little bit more. Frankly, I’m still not ready for mass phone selling. I cold called my way through 5 years as a professional financial planner, and I hated every second of it. Still, this time will be different because I love what I do and I am determined to succeed. My plan? Become an expert recognized in the fields I want to work in. How? By writing and publishing insightful, original, and useful advice and commentary. That is what Best Hubris is all about.

What’s your plan for marketing success in your business?

Technorati Tags: startup, web pages, business, sell, selling, marketing success

Ok, here we go. I’m jumping into the world of social networking. Why? Because, online, social networking IS networking. Just like a local business owner should network via various organizations, an online business owner should network via various social networking sites. The theory is that if people already know and respect you, and they already know what you do then someday when they, or someone they know, needs a service or product that you provide they will of course come to you. This kind of networking leads to being able to run your business via Reverse Cold Calling instead of you always having to go find new clients. Of course, it doesn’t work this way if you are just in it to get clients. Go to a Rotary Club meeting and hand out fifty business cards only to never return and you can be sure that your “networking” will be a failure. On the other hand if you join Rotary, go to meetings every week, meet people, get to know them and generally become respected as a good member and a good person, then the business will come as a side affect of being a member. It won’t work the other way around.

So, with that premise in mind it is time to launch the social networking campaign. Since any attempt to simply join to get clients will result in failure, joining needs to be about both contributing and building a presents for each social network. And, therein, lies the catch. I don’t get social networking. It has never made any sense to me. I’ve been to Digg, and del.icio.us, and Twitter, and Facebook, and Myspace, and frankly I don’t get it. Oh, the idea of online bookmarks was a good one, but now that I have Foxmarks to synchronize my bookmarks I don’t need them on some website. The whole concept of social networking is that by finding other people like you, you can look at their bookmarks and find great new websites that you have never heard of, and vice versa. Sort of a Netflix recommendation via a matching person instead of via an anonymous matching profile. Sounds good, what could be the problem?

I’ve Got Morons to the Left of Me…

The problem, in a word, is jackassery. I’m going to copyright that, so don’t bother writing it down. Jackassery is the implementation or conception of ideas or actions that would only be committed by or appreciated by a jackass. Or, more Webster-ly: of or pertaining to being a jackass.

99.999% of people on the Internet are fine, normal people that while you may or may not have anything in common with, you would at least be willing to give the benefit of the doubt while you got to know them. One would assume that such a ratio would hold online as well. While that may or may not be the case, the hard truth is that fully 90% of all people who step forth to proclaim their opinions on social networking sites fall into the category of people you don’t want to hear a peep from. There are many sub-categories of these people including: the boring, the socially challenged, the pedantic, the banal, the copycats, and of course the morons. Check the front page of Digg and you will see not 15 very interesting stories that challenge and stimulate your thoughts, but rather 3 “funny news” stories, 1 “funny” Youtube link, 3 “I can’t believe <insert politician/newsmaker> did this” stories*, 5 “Unix is best, No Mac, No Umbuntu, Microsoft sucks” stories, and 3 “technology so new you can’t even buy it and even if you could what would you do with it” stories.

Obviously, these kind of stories don’t inspire me to read. If I want funny news I’ll go to Fark.com. If I want social commentary I’ll check sources that actually care about facts. If I want technology news, well…they might have me there. Anyway, every time I click the “find other people who also liked this” button or its equivalent I find people so nightmarishly moronic that I wonder if I should not have been reading that site in the first place lest my IQ dwindle just from being tangentially associated with such people.

Try It Again - This Time With Feeling

The truth is that I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who are not bozos. The problem is that they are harder to find. You see, the people that you actually want to know, and quite frankly those in a position to actually benefit from your products or services have lives. And, because they have lives they don’t spend all of their time building up their power and credibility on Digg or whatever. That means you won’t find them on the front page. You’ll find them through narrower searches and taking your time. I’m a “now” kind of guy so taking my time is not my forte. However, I am a business man, and as such I’m willing to put in the time to improve my business. Therefore, I will now be making a better effort at the whole social networking thing. I’ll be starting with Twitter. I really, really, don’t know what the heck this thing is for, but we’ll see if it can be for more than 15 year-olds telling each other what store they are in a the mall.

Wish me luck.

*”I can’t believe <someone> did this” stories tend to fall into the same categories over and over.

1. Those who want to change the Internet and or those who sue that use use it (RIAA, Phone company execs, Congress)
2. Conservatives (social networkers tend to be liberal overall — though conservative social networkers have certainly carved out their own niche, but you have to go find them.)
3. T.V or Movie execs who make/change/buy/option/comment on/think about geek properties such as comic books, sci-fi shows or books, graphic novels, or old T.V. shows. Think “alt.nerd.obsessive” (thank you Simpsons)
4. Celebrities