Imaginative work

I read a great quote today which I thought was worth sharing:

“There is a recognition dawning that the repetitive linear system which controls work and the worker is no longer profitable. Consequently, the presence of the soul is now welcome in the workplace. The soul is welcome because it is the place where the imagination lives.”

What I like about this is the reference to profit, and that linear systematic work isn’t profitable. If I think about every startup I’ve ever been involved with the real profit has come from the excitement and variety of the work. Internal profit rather than financial. And so my soul has been enriched.

What we follow – AFL

If you’re in Australia you’d know it is AFL Grand Final week. In US terms its the Super Bowl for Aussie rules football.

One of the most popular teams, Collingwood Football club has made it to the final. They have many fanatical supporters. So it got me thinking about what we are really supporting when it comes to football:

The Location? No, they do not play their games or even train in their original location of the suburb of Collingwood.

The Players? No, they are also never from the location they actually play for, let alone the same state or even country. They also change teams frequenctly and we welcome new players from other teams with open arms (so long as they are good players)

Our Peers? No, often our best friends follow teams which are the arch enemy of ours. We do not switch teams to be accepted by anyone. We’ll attend the games with them, but barrack for our own team.

The Jumper? No, that changes frequently. It barely looks like the original from 100 years ago and we are often forced to change it if the opposing team has colours which are deemed to clash.

The Performance? No, success is tenuous at best. Systems have been built in AFL to ensure the a more equitable distribution of success (Salary caps, draft systems). 1 successful year in 10 is a great result. 1 in 20 is more frequent.

So what do we support? We support the idea of loyalty. A concept only humans can understand. Following a team allows us to live vicariously, and display loyalty no matter what in a non life threatening way. It allows us to be emotional in a world that attempts to demand only rational thought.

Football and sport in general is one way we can remain human without consequence. And when it comes to brands, or clubs in this case, people can only truly love those which feel human.

Solid advice

Startup blog friend and movie maker Ryan Spanger has some kind of a secret project happening called creative.biz – I’m not sure what it’s all about but here’s a video which is on the home page. I reckon this is one entrepreneurs should keep an eye on given the solid advice in this short video.

Bootstrappers Research

Today I was with colleague Luke Waldren who said wanted to stop at Cash Converters quickly to have a look. I ask him what he wanted to buy and he said “Nothing”. He then went on to tell me this;

“I go to cash converters every now and again to do some consumer and economic research. It’s a great barometer of the state of the economy at a grass roots level. To see things like what people are off loading, and how much inventory they have in certain categories. To ask the staff members what’s hot and not. If they’re busy or quiet.”

I thought it was a terrific idea, because it represents the buying and selling of the community, in a way that business to consumer trading just can’t.

By the way of example here’s a a couple of simple insights: TV’s are almost non existent in Cash Converters now. They’re too cheap new to have a good resale value when second hand. The case of mobile phones with filled with Blackberrys and Nokias and there wasn’t one iPhone for sale – They sales guy told me they get bought too quick.

Startup Blog says: Real research opportunities are all around us.

How to handle ‘too expensive’

One of the most common reasons for not buying what we sell is these two words ‘Too expensive’.

It begs an important question:

Is it too expensive because they don’t have the budget, or because they don’t think it’s good value?

We need to know the answer to this question if we make the sale or not as they both point us in alternative tactical directions.

Kulula Air – Eyeball worthy

I was recently email some pics of Kulula Airlines livery. I’d describe it as eyeball worthy. Because it’s worth looking at, it’s worth talking about. There is no shortage of in cabin jokes from cabin crew while talking to passengers, but few have the courage to paint their personality on the fuselage like Kalula have. In an era of media proliferation, the trick any startup needs to master is the ability to be talked about. Nice work Kulula.

Blogs are a stadium

I was asked today about how blogs should be built and leveraged from a commercial perspective. It seems to be a regular question I’m asked. The giving element that is required in the blogosphere seems counter intuitive to the way our minds have been trained via the industrial complex. They often struggle with the fact that we just have to give, and the law of natural economics just kicks in. So I came up with this analogy which I think makes sense and explains how it should be approached philosophically.

Blogs are like a football stadium.

The game is played in the middle of the ground.

In blogs the middle of the ground happens to be where our posts are geographically placed.

This is why people come to our blog. To see the action. To learn from and be entertained by the actual game (posts)

But like all good stadiums we have related infrastructure around the edges. Our details, company, tweetstream, contacts.

If they like the game we play (our posts) they return. The crowd gets bigger, and they tell their friends to come.

Like the stadium the revenue comes from all the related elements like the concession stands, the parking and the sponsorship. The stuff that generally lives around the edges… both in stadiums and our blogs.

But we must never forget why they are here. To enjoy the game. They only ever return because the enjoy the game (the blog posts). So what we need to do is build our industry around the game, rather than charging for tickets at the gate. Charging entry just doesn’t work beause there is far too many games they can attend. (more than 200 million in fact)

So when someone asks you about how to make a blog work. Remind them of ‘stadium economics’ and that it’s the quality of the information and entertainment which earns us the right to sell them the occasional hot dog.

Advertising & entrepreneurs

Advertising is the type of industry aspiring entrepreneurs should consider. I think it is the best training groun for anyone wanting to tread their own path in the future and here’s why.

Advertising is boom & bust: You learn that customers come and go, and that you’re only as good as your most recent in market execution. You don’t take revenue for granted, and learn to focus on achieving your customers objectives more than your own. Your own objectives are achieved by inference.

Advertising is multi industry: You’ll be working on consumer goods one minute, and selling finacne or cars the next. it teaches you the broad world view that entrepreneurs need. You become a business person, rather than an industry expert.

Advertising is short lead: Often the period between a brief to a pitch is a few weeks. It’s a short time to analyse a situation, make strategic decisions and deliver the plan. it requires speedy output and nimble thinking. Perfect training for entrepreneurs.

Advertising is the best pitch practice: It’s one of the few industries which is pitch driven. We pitch ideas to existing clients, new clients and within the organisation.

Advertising is a selling game: Selling your ideas is king, it’s how you win. As entrepreneurs we’ve got to be able to sell. The ad game is a great way to skill up on selling.

Advertising requires revenue invention: The only way to grow is to present proactive ideas which are so compelling he client can’t resist it, and knows it will benefit their business. We call it revenue invention. It’s what entreprenuers must also do to stay alive.

If you have startup aspirations, the ad game is a great place to build the skills needed.

Be part of something

When I started rentoid.com a 5 years ago I had no idea it would grow into something much bigger. In fact, the entire industry has been written about by Rachel Botsman in her upcoming book “What’s mine is yours“. She coined the phrase Collaborative Consumption to describe what is happening in our hyper connected world. Rentoid is featured in the book and this little video below, which makes me a bit proud.

It’s cool to launch a startup to make money. It’s cooler to be part of something bigger than your startup.

the non tech advantage

Business success have never been about technology. Sure technology companies become successful, but it’s never the technology that creates the success, it’s the people and method which bring the technology to the market.

So in the spirit of making us non techies feel good, here’s a top 10 list of reasons why it’s an advantage to be a non-techie running a tech startup or in a tech focused industry:

1. Unless we’re a one person company, our tech skills are irrelevant. Just like we need accountants, and lawyers, techies are just another one of the skills we need.
2. We can be more rational with our decisions. We are less likely fall in love with the technology.
3. It allows us to get to market and then iterate, rather than perfect before launch.
4. Most tech skills (especially web and computer based) can be outsourced, and outsourced more cheaply than creative and business skills can.
5. We can focus our energy on game winning things like marketing, finance and selling.
6. People aren’t interested in technology, we are interested in how the technology makes our lives better. This is what entrepreneurs must focus on.
7. Tech based startups have the lowest financial barriers to entry – it’s where all entrepreneurs should be looking, not just techies.
8. Technology is starting to design itself. Humans wont be doing the coding on computer much longer, the computer will do it for us. Our job is to lead the symphony.
9. Moore’s Law is working for us. Every year technology is more accessible to us (financially) and the developing world. It’s the place to be to create change
10. Technology is just a conversation. It’s the next step in the evolution in human language. If you’re human, you deserve to be part of it.

To all you non-techies out there…. get going and change the world.