Q & A – New Media and Small Business
I was asked to answer a few questions at a talk I gave last week at the Nationwide Networking Event. It was aimed at Small businesses with the topic about new media and the advantages of being small. I thought it was a nice snippet of ideas worth sharing here.
Q: What type of changes can we expect from media in 2010 and how do we need to prepare for it as business professionals?
A: Media will fragment further, it’s increasingly like fashion with new ideas appearing daily. The art of value, like with fashion is by going with the classics and choosing the right style for the brand you want to build. Match your environment, by being involved in the right channels.
Q: Where do you see the role of the blog in the future?
A: Increasingly important. Blogs are a trusted source, because bloggers become, or are an expert on their topic of choice. This is because all good blogs are topic specific. And people want to deal with experts.
Q: What can we expect from the evolution of twitter and our capacity to use it as a marketing medium?
A: If we use it as a marketing medium we’ve already lost. It’s a conversation…. Conversation can turn into business, but it is primarily a conversation. First we need to be a resource. A resource to others, from which we can build trust and valued relationships. These may eventually lead a business relationship.
Q: What trends are coming from America that we need to be aware of?
A: Trends are global now. We don’t have to look overseas to see it. Things arrive simultaneously. It’s not like it was 20 years ago where our friends return from sojourns overseas to tell us all about the cool things they saw, and we have to wait for them to appear in our market a few years later. Now it’s on our desktop the day it happens. This is been further facilitated by web tools such as Springwise, Twitter and Youtube.
Q: How do we (small business people) benefit from the changes in the media landscape?
A: Barriers to entry have been removed so anyone can play. But it requires a long term consistent effort. New media requires a low financial investment, and large human capital input. Where as old media requires a large financial investment with little human effort. At least now we have to choice. In addition large companies have been (so far) pretty bad at using new media. It creates an advantage for us.
Q: How can we better utilize technology tor reduce our costs and increase our profits?
A: Shift from being doers, to becoming project managers. Outsource where ever possible. It’s easier now with all the tools we have at our disposal like elance and skype. Why do we even need an office? Is it because we need to, or because we don’t trust the people we work with?
Q: Your blog has 50,000 readers a month, how did you do that?
A: Two simple things. One blog entry every day. Staying on topic (entrepreneurship / startups). Then wordpress and Google did the rest. It’s not a trick, it just takes consistent effort.
Q: What is the meaning of micro brand building and how would it be relevant to soloprenuers?
A: Build your personal brand first. That’s the first part of micro branding, becoming known for something. Having a skill you can share with others. Then eventually cross fertilize to your business brand.
Q: What are the simplest things we can do to build a micro brand?
A: Have a tight focus area of interest. Share our lessons honestly and openly. Frequency of output.
Q: How do we protect our brands?
A: Not with IP and legal stuff…. Most of that is a simple waste of money. We protect it with customers, innovation and reliability.
Q: What one piece of advice would you give to those of us that need clients and need them quickly?
A: Cold call. Not on the phone, but turn up and talk.
Q: What books have influenced you?
Q: What marketers / speakers have influenced you?
A: Steven Wright (comedian) he taught me how to flip my perspective for alternative solutions.
Don’t take any advice
While watching Eddie Murphy on Inside The Actors Studio Interview – he said some amazing things which I thought were great for entrepreneurs. When asked by the audience what advice he’d give to any aspiring actors this is what he said:
The advice I would give an actor is not to take any advice from anyone. Because I remember when I was younger, I would ask for advice… because with actors when you make that choice, you know it deep down, and you know in your heart, you know what you wanna do and you know what your abilities are and lots of time advice could screw you up. A great advice story was from Rodney Dangerfield. I did the comic strip in Fort Lauder Dale when I was like 16 or 17 years old and Dangerfield walks in. And the whole room was ‘Oh Dangerfield is here’ – everyone bumped all the comics and no one wanted to go up cause Dangerfield was in the room. And I was so confident back then I was like Mr Dangerfield, I want you to watch my show… I want you to watch.. He said, Oh yeh, I’ll stick around kid. And he watches. And I did my thing, and I was really dirty (with my language) and after the show, he said… ‘Hey kid, you said a lot of bad things there, hey watch your language”. He gave me a big speech about my language and the words I was using, and it really took the wind out of my sails, and I was like WOW, cause I really killed that night…
Then 5 or 6 years later, I’m at the bathroom at Caesars Palace, and Dangerfield comes in and he’s in the urinal right next to me, and I haven’t seen him since that night. I look over and he looks back and said: “Hey, who knew?”
Startup Blog would love to know what advice have you ignored to advantage?
What Docklands should do
I had a function in the Docklands precinct of Melbourne last night. Lot’s of nice waterfront restaurants, popular brand retailers and it’s aesthetically pleasing… yet it is a veritable ghost town. I asked some of the retailers about it and they all told me the same thing…. No one comes here, it’s always quiet.
Sure new precincts take some time to build, but it’s nigh on ten years now and the Docklands still feels like a soulless wind tunnel. Interestingly everyone agrees it will be a cool place, it just isn’t yet.
The Melbourne City Council knows Docklands ain’t what it should be. In order to attract traffic they came up with two of the worst ideas in they’ve had in some time:
1. The Souther Star Observation Wheel – at a cost of $40 million+.
Which is now the wheel of broken dreams and didn’t seem to like hot weather.
2. Free Rent to retailer Costco – A little known fact is that USA retail Costco was wooed to Docklands by Government authorities with the quiet gift of free rent for 3 years. Hoping that would generate foot traffic for the suffering region.
* An equally terrible idea as people drive in from the outer suburbs fill their car boot up with 100 rolls of toilet paper and drive home.
Here’s a simple idea for the Docklands authorities to get people to their empty party:
Free Parking
Yep, sometimes the simplest innovations are the best. People love free parking. …. “Let’s just go to docklands, there is plenty of parking and it’s free” – decision made, party gets started. A simple redirection of the $40 million wheel could have paid for parking for 10 years. It would make Docklands an obvious choice among people wanting food, entertainment and shopping therapy. But in classic government fashion they opted for complex solutions where a simple one existed.
Lesson? Startups ought look for the simple solution first.
Simple startup advice – Ben & Jerry’s
Today I was fortunate enough to meet Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Jerry is not only a smart guy, but a nice one too. I asked him one simple question for entrepreneurs and here’s what he had to say:
(More detailed insight will be the topic of subsequent blog entries)
The end of television
There’s been a lot of talk about the end of television lately. You’ve heard it all. But one simple fact I heard today reminded me today of why television is doomed.
The end of the ratings period.
Yep, that old chestnut. But let’s stop and think for moment what it means and the legacy issues associated with the concept of the rating and non-rating periods.
It was something television could do. It could ‘have a holiday’. It could do this for one simple reason, it had no real competitors. TV broadcasters justified their actions too. They told us that their TV stars needed a break. They told us they were getting ready for the new season with great new episodes and shows. They told us we could enjoy our favourite re-runs. Sure we could go down the the video rental store, but it was much harder than turning on a television and a poor substitute at best.
Today, the end of the ratings period is a continued legacy which proves that broadcasters still don’t get it. We don’t care what time of year it is, we don;’t have to. We still spend money. The economy keeps churning. We still want current, new, exciting information and entertainment. Good news for us is that now we can go elsewhere to get it. And it’s more convenient than TV. It’s on demand, and uninterrupted. The fact that the ratings period still exists today has me flummoxed.
And as long as the television broadcasting industry thinks it can get away with it’s ‘holiday’, it is yet to understand what is happening. It alone is proof TV as an industry, is doomed. This little thing, the non-ratings period, is proof they don’t believe that is the end of their cosy little attention monopoly.
Good bye television, hope you enjoyed your stay.
Heavy quote
Yes I know my enemies…. They’re the teachers who taught me to fight me
compromise,
conformity,
assimilation,
submission
Ignorance,
hypocrisy,
brutality,
the elite
All of which are American dreams.
Turns out they are the enemy of freedom, exploration entrepreneurship to…
Zach De La Rocha.
Develop a manifesto
I developed a manifesto for what rentoid on the weekend which had a tremendous response. It wasn’t designed for anything but clarifying my business beliefs for rentoid. But it’s had over 300 views and 6 embeds in 2 days and turned out to be a pretty cool brand awareness vehicle. All it took was 10 minutes and an honest approach. It’s below.
Who is the worlds greatest entrepreneur?
Steve Jobs?
Bill Gates?
Richard Branson?
Not even close… it’s not a billionaire, not even a millionaire…
It’s William Kambkwamba. William personifies the meaning of the word ‘Entrepreneur’. He has done more with less than any of those above. In all probability William had as little a resource base available as any living person in the free world. This is no exageration.
Here’s why he is the worlds greatest entrepreneur:
- He had no financial resources
- He could not even afford to go to school, had no formal education
- He had to make it work with junk he found lying around
- He is self taught
- He created something incredibly complex
- He did it from a guide in what was then, a foreign language to him
- He built something for the good of others, to help his village
- He was not motivated by money
- He defied ridicule
- He is humble
William is the greatest entrepreneur in the world. William is one of the greatest inspirations I’ve ever had the fortune of being exposed to. Read up on William. Google him. Watch the Youtube videos on William. Absorb what William represents and re-consider what you beleive to be hardship next time you have a tough day. I do.
Startup Survival
In nature, with every second something lives for, it’s probability of continued life increases exponentially.
The lessons for startups is simple, do the stuff that keeps you alive longest. And the most important thing we can do for our startup is keep our costs low. Low cost operations gives us the advantage of time. And time is the most important asset when it comes to working out our business model. Not capital, not technology, not employees, not research. Just time.
If you can type, you can make movies
Yes, it’s true. I made this movie in 5 minutes with the help of Lukey Mac (rentoid regular). And all I did was type. It’s not going to get me an Oscar for best animation, but it’s very quick and a cool way to get a message out to your members, fans, family, anything really…
It’s a new website called www.xtranormal.com and I think it is amazing. There is really no limit to where this could go…. Home made full feature animated flicks? Possibly.
For startups it’s a great resource to communicate cheaply (Free) and easily. Build a series of episodes and in addition we can really translate our brand values and personality.
Startup Blog says xtranormal rocks!
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