Connecting the dots of life and business

Yesterday, I attended the local chamber‘s structured networking event. I reference the format because it wasn’t your average social/business gathering. Instead, we had 20 minutes at a table with six attendees and a facilitator to discuss three business topics. We completed this cycle two more times, so I chatted with 15 attendees and three facilitators in one hour.

I couldn’t help but notice the differences between online and offline companies. Here are a few observations and takeaways that make me think us web geeks/startup junkies sometimtes live in a bubble.

• Salespeople don’t mess around – I know some people think I’m a “sales guy”, although I’ve never been trained (most that are great have been). I brought my portfolio and plenty of cards, but the real salespeople had tri-fold brochures, client lists and a few even had custom name tags with a scrolling digital message. Before you laugh, it was memorable and again their motive was clear. Takeaway – Customer acquisition is so different for offline businesses.
  
• Social what? – Most attendees referenced the web in some way and a couple even talked about their Facebook group or *gasp* Twitter page (their words not mine). I was floored to hear business owners and employees talk about using social tools. Granted some butchered the vernacular and I assume the execution, but there was obvious curiousity and interest. I suspect these steps are much like company blogs were a few years ago and 99% still haven’t heard of RSS. Takeaway – Social tools are still shiny new toys for most offline businesses and some may sadly be looking for the magic bullet.
  
• You are what you wear – As we rotated groups you had to choose your next table in less than one minute. Needless to say, we were all forced to make judgments on where to sit by who you knew or what the table looked like. Some folks wore their company logo (helpful for this event) a few were business casual and most were professionally dressed. I chose the sportcoat with no tie and it was obvious a few suits wondered if I accidentally left my tie at home. Takeaway – I know some people hate to hear this, but just as online companies are judged by the look of their site, offline folks are judged by their attire.
• Face to face matters – In addition to physical appearance, those who were quick witted or well spoken ruled the event’s roost. Most of my online friends can write great copy for a web page or type funny statements in under 140 characters, but human interaction is just so different. I found it refreshing and realized many people (of all ages) still want the face to face interaction for making decisions. Takeaway – While our crowd may use Paypal, email and Google docs there is a massive customer base for companies who will meet you in person.

I’m not ready to ditch my web conferencing, twitter addiction or LinkedIn account, but it was a nice change of pace. I really enjoyed the event’s framework as people weren’t there to meet and greet, they came to generate business. It felt almost more relaxed knowing everyone’s intentions (i.e. – buy my wares or help me find someone who will). Online we criticize those who try to sell, sell, sell, but this was the purpose of virtually every attendee.

There are many things I appreciate about the web like scaling, speed and visibility (Google the term earwood). But, just like the show “Lost” there are “others” out there and they’re not going away.

Two quick stories that reminded me the importance of pushing when appropriate with different methods.

First, my friend who owns a growing business and I were discussing how some employees easily accept “No” for answer. He referenced his struggles with a specific employee who either gave up too easily or was just getting pushed around (by vendors). After trying to coach this person over and over, he finally said, “Don’t come back to me until your nose or your knuckles are bloody.” He didn’t mean this literally, but he claims the mandate has started to work when he overheard this employee’s phone conversation. The gist was the persistent message of “that’s not acceptable” (with a stern tone).

Fast forward a few hours that same day… I was getting some things printed with a local company and they gave me an end of day deadline. When one of our guys stopped by to pick up our prints, they told him it wouldn’t be ready until the next day. I was out running an errand so I stopped by to see what happened. I politely explained what we needed done and why we needed to reach the agreed upon deadline. He checked out their work load, then came back saying they’d move some things around and it would be done in 30 minutes. My guy was flustered they didn’t do the same for him (I didn’t have to say I was the boss), but I did politely push him.

I do not support or propose you beat up your vendors. I’ve been on the receiving end and it’s terrible. However, there are times when stern words or even sweet talking are necessary. Two drastically different methods and virtually the same result. It’s just up to you to figure out when to use which and gauge is it worth it if this goes bad. What’s your preferred method? How do you successfully mitigate hearing a “no” when you know a “yes” is possible?

Flickr credit: Roman-photo

It’s been a week since I returned from SXSW and this picture by Jim Storer pretty much sums it up (sans Kevin’s grinning). While I feel much more rested, I do miss the daily interaction with so many great people. Already looking forward to next year.

I recently ordered a couple clothing items from Zappos that didn’t quite fit. No biggie. I called their customer service line and immediately talked to a human being who changed my order to other items, emailed me the new receipt and a printable return label (i.e. – free shipping on my return).

In my haste to leave town I stuffed the two items to be returned into the Zappos box and somehow threw in a client’s copy of Adobe Creative Suite software. When I got back from Austin, I was puzzled to find a Zappos box on my front porch (the previous items were already picked up). After sorting through my mail, I opened the Zappos box to find the software and all its cd’s returned.

Although they’re due for an upgrade, I was shocked that a massive operation like Zappos not only found my software, but tracked down my name and address to ship back (also for free). While Zappos isn’t always cheapest, I only see a MAJOR upside as their customer service stories continue to spread. I’ve gotten to know a few Zappos employees (their distribution center is 15 miles from me) and they say the tales of their dedication to customer service and culture are true.

I don’t order much clothing or shoes online, but it’s worth the few extra dollars a Zappos item may cost just to know you they’ll get it right, even if YOU screw up.

What’s your best Zappos story?

Many people attend conferences to grow their business and at SXSW it seems folks try REALLY hard to get noticed. Everyone references Twitter’s explosion in 2007, but I also remember Colin and Rob from Viddler as a 2007 memorable company. Their approach was pretty simple… they both wore Viddler t-shirts every day (I assume it wasn’t the same shirt) as they did interviews and grabbed video footage. After the second day, everyone knew they were with Viddler and it had something to do with video. Smart.

Here are five companies that were out pimping their ideas to the SXSW crowd.

1 – WebbChange.com – They dressed this guy up as Elvis and handed out Webbchange t-shirts. Not super creative, but humorous and the t-shirt’s quality was pretty good. Sadly, I never learned what they did.

Update: I received an email a few hours after publishing this post from Bill Clanton, CEO of WebbChange offering me a personal demo of their site. That personal touch far outweighs any promotion I saw.

2 – JungleDisk.com- This group easily stood out with their two costumes and I heard a few people chattering about their shtick, so it must have had some level of success.

3 – Other Inbox- The creative folks at OIB had a large booth in the Expo and dressed this guy up as Mr. Spam. I took this picture right before he pitched their concept to Kevin and I. The best part was Mr. Spam offered to take off his mask after I obviously couldn’t stop laughing at a guy talking about MX records with his mask. You can also see his cape here.

4 – Smule.com- By far the most memorable as “The Mule” (his card said it) wore an all-white outfit with the company flag on his back. He also demonstrated their product (see video here and here). There’s no question he will not be forgotten, but it takes a special person to wear that outfit.

5 – LostZombies.com- These guys weren’t the best at promoting their product (mainly b/c I couldn’t remember what their site was), but their stickers seemed to be strategically placed at parties. The warning message definitely caught my attention and the last line “DO NOT REMOVE THIS STICKER” made me laugh.

Flickr photo by: delitefulimage

I spent a good bit of my March in Las Vegas (LeadsCon) and Austin (SXSW) at conferences (which I paid for) and loved sharing startup stories with fellow entrepreneurs (Hint: everyone wants to tell their startup stories). Upon my return, I stopped by the bank and after reviewing my trip, she said, “You entrepreneur guys will get so rich.” While I appreciate the encouragement (her statement was more of a blanket for business owners than my deposit size), I realized people really have a skewed perspective about an entrepreneur’s life.

I’m a huge advocate of people with j-o-b’s starting their own ventures (preferably not as a consultant… individuals don’t scale), but I think some see it for what it’s NOT. It is not always fun and just downright sucks at times. I don’t like fixing a customer issue at 7 pm on a Thursday night, which I just did, but I’d still wouldn’t trade it for another path. So here are the top five misconceptions I seem to run across.

1. Entrepreneur’s get rich – Sure, the tales of a business selling for millions reach the headlines, but if we were to print a daily business obituary the newspaper industry might just be profitable. The statistics are NOT in the favor of starting a new business and the bailout you’re hoping for probably isn’t coming. If you’re only in it for cash, it’s not worth it. You’ll burn out and a “career” in Multi-level Marketing might be a better avenue for your treasure hunt.
2. Just write it off – I’ve been to numerous lunches with friends or customers who say, “Let Todd’s company pay for it. He can write it off, right?” Yes, I can write off some expenses, but it’s my company’s money which ultimately means it’s MY money. An expense is an expense, no matter who pays. If you’re used to your employer paying for meals, conferences (very costly) and happy hours… you’ll likely re-think the idea when you’re “writing it off.”
3. Have tons of leisure time – I know many people who work crazy amounts of hours in their j-o-b. I know people who have jobs work hard and sometimes the structure they required to operate within can be restrictive. Personally, I rarely watch the clock at lunch and book many coffee meetings that last past 10 AM. Managing my own time is a HUGE benefit for me as an entrepreneur, but just like those who work for a company… it varies. I would mainly say we have more control over our work structure, but the obligation can also be higher (golf a lot, payroll doesn’t get met).
4. Be your own boss – Speaking of payroll, I am responsible for the livelihood of several people (which is scary for most at first), but we all answer to someone. For me, it’s usually my clients. The expectation of a customer is drastically different than an internal co-worker (some dorks call their co-workers clients… dumb). Some of my entrepreneur friends answer to investors and some answer to the clock (i.e. – burn rate). I struggle with this one as really want to make sure my employees like the work and the structure. It’s not perfect, but they’ve learned I make many decisions influenced by the company’s circumstances not my opinion.
5. Startups are fun – Yes, startups can be VERY fun. I love the camaraderie with our team. The people make the work even more enjoyable. However, the implication by some is it’s all jolly good times. The reality is it’s also scary, it’s tough and driving the early momentum is just brutal. Remember: you’re building a business AND the internal infrastructure simultaneously! Like most things, you take the good with the bad, just acknowledge every job, project gig has its bad.

I realize these five points only scratch the surface and to be clear… this is the path I love and the one I plan to continue. Climbing the ladder wasn’t for me, but it by no means makes it wrong… just as launching your own company isn’t THE measure of a good business person.

To me, it’s about personal choice. I will not stop encouraging people to flesh out their ideas and leave their j-o-b’s (when appropriate), but if you do choose this path just know it’s not perfect. While, I don’t want to take away or downplay all the fun of being an entrepreneur (it still rocks for me and many others), but try reading Dave’s post before taking the plunge. (Warning: his words sting.)

Finally, what misconceptions have you heard, been told or encountered? I know there are many, so please share them with everyone in the comments.