Awesome Tim!

It's been a long while since my last blog post. I just want to make it clear that my intention was never to blog on a monthly basis lol. Weekly perhaps, but not monthly. Asides from being ridiculously busy as of late, I am absolutely brutal at keeping secrets regarding myself. Sure I can lock it down for a lifetime if it involves someone else, but I just get too damn excited regarding my own stuff. Plus there was a big part of me that wanted to stay completely behind the scenes regarding my pet project. Well after this past Thursday, that's kind of hard now. Just a warning but this will probably be my largest blog post to date. Might want to grab a drink and a sandwich.

On Jan. 25, 2012, The Herald ran a front-page story about Tim Barber and his silent partner Chris Morris. Tim was a homeless man who had a simple yet brilliant idea for a new business and Chris was his trusty sidekick keeping him on task and positive. How often have you been late for work and drive past a Tim Horton's knowing that you can't stop no matter how bad you need that large double-double? Tim saw this and wondered how much the suits down town would pay for him to stand in line for them and deliver their coffee, with a small delivery charge of course. Then the idea grew to include any other coffee shop or restaurant in the down town core. After investing in a business licence and heat bag, along with a helping hand from a local print shop for flyers, Tim delivered a bunch of flyers to some down town offices. For the first couple of days, no orders came in. Then 1 did. Then a second. Sure it wasn't a flood of clients, but it gave him purpose and let him know that this just might turn into a decent idea. Someone got wind of the idea at The Herald and the rest is history.      

It's at this point that I came into the picture. After reading the story http://www2.canada.com/calgaryherald/iphone/news/latest/story.html?id=6052183 I thought to myself "This guy could use some marketing help." So I called Tim and told him I'd like to buy him a coffee and tell him how I could help him. I'm pretty sure he was skeptical at first, but after listening to me for 5 or 10 minutes he agreed to give me a shot. I mean here I was talking about things he had never heard of like Twitter and Awesome Calgary, but the fact that I was willing to help for free sold him. Probably didn't hurt when he said I could plug my fledgling marketing business and I told him no. I wanted this story (and still do) to be about him. I'm only coming public now because of a conversation with my friend Mel where she convinced me that the contacts I have will help us grow his business faster if it's not a secret. Personally, I would much rather be Bruce Wayne to his Batman.

So we launched our Twitter presence on Jan. 30, 2012. We reached 100 followers within 24 hours. By the end of our first week, we eclipsed 200 followers. As we approach our 1 month Twitter anniversary, we are poised on exceeding the 300 follower checkpoint. In that time we've been tweeted to by an amazing community of people. We have some tweeps that we chat with on a daily basis (like @annemaccat and @sweetpea403) and we've even had a couple of conversations with the mayor of Calgary @nenshi (no orders yet Mr. Mayor but we know you will eventually ;). The offers for help have been numerous and generous. As for building a Twitter presence, I would say this has been a successful first month, but Twitter does not make a business.

Like any business, some form of operating capital is needed. Whether this is for supplies or marketing or even just to give a little buffer so one slow day doesn't shut down the business. It is absolutely remarkable that Tim has been able to start this and keep it going on the most minimal of resources. But with that being said, I knew we needed something. Enter Awesome Calgary http://www.awesomecalgary.org/ . I had attended their November pitch night. I loved the idea of a foundation helping people with awesome ideas make these ideas reality. With a carrot like $1000, I thought it would be awesome to submit Tim's idea, so without his knowledge, I did so. I mentioned it in passing but I don't think it really resonated with him and that was fine by me. I mean if we didn't get accepted I didn't want it to weigh him down. In the middle of February I was notified that we had made the final 4 for February's award. When I explained to him what this meant, he did his infamous Timmy Happy Dance. Inside I did too. This past Thursday we pitched Tim's idea. I wanted people to get a chance to see Tim's passion and positivity so we kept it a very basic interview style. http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/20651628 They saw in him what I did and he won. He was already winner, this just confirmed it to him. Our next step is Dragon's Den, but we'll wait until next year lol.

I've never been accused of thinking small. In fact, I would tend to agree with people when they say that I sometimes set unreachable goals. My reasoning is simple - I aim for the moon, and if I miss, I hit the stars. Although Tim's story of redemption is what drew me, after talking to the man for 5 minutes I knew that this had the potential to be bigger than anything he could have hoped for. The simplicity of his idea made it scalable. Why get only 2 people off the street when we could get 20 or even 200? Although Tim and Chris are incredibly hard workers, they are only 2 men covering a down town the size of Calgary. What if we had 4 or 5 other 2-man teams, each covering a different section of down town? With at least half of our Twitter followers located outside the down town core, what is the possibility of expanding to include the entire city? Waiters En Route needs some competition and we're hungrier. Now what if we replicate this to another Canadian city? And then the U.S? You see what I'm saying? If there's a way to dream small then I just don't know how.  

So this is what I've been up to lately and it's only the beginning for Tim. I plan on taking him as far as I can. As I told him, my plan is to get him noticed by Arlene from Dragon's Den so a real marketing company can handle him lol. But even if that happens, I know I've made an amazing new friend who I'm proud of every day. Tim shows me that no matter how hard life kicks you, your only choice is to kick back harder. Otherwise you're not really living.  

Hold the Phone

For a supposedly decent poker player I can't believe I forgot one of the biggest rules - as long as you have a chip and a chair you're still in the game. My last post stated something that could have easily been mistaken for an obituary notice. Admittedly reality had not been kind as I had to *gulp* go back to work in an office, but it was definitely premature of me to say that my first venture into owning my own business was a failure. Fast forward 3 weeks from that post and I have a couple of firm clients and another couple at the negotiation stage.

So what changed? In a nutshell, I realized I had to be a little more flexible in the services I offered. That's not to say that my original plan didn't involve flexibility - I just wasn't properly communicating it. When you strive to be the full-meal deal, sometimes you need to write out the menu.

Now for the next step. Having theories of how to market a business is one thing. What matters is putting these theories into action. As a hockey buddy puts it "Don't talk about it, be about it". That, in essence, is my next step. It's not for my well-being. I already know my theories work. The goal here now is to prove to my clients that I actually do know what I'm talking about and increase their market penetration, awareness, and sales numbers.

In conclusion, the lesson I learned and that others can take from this is to never count yourself out too early. Belief in one's self is paramount when it comes to success. It may always be darkest before dawn, but eventually the sun does rise. As long as I believe in myself, there is nothing I can't achieve. Have the same belief in yourself and follow your dreams.

Persistence Pays off

To say I was dejected when my first attempt at becoming a self-sustaining business owner came to an end would be a gross understatement. Admittedly I only gave myself a little over a month to do it which realistically was not nearly enough time. If promises were pay cheques I'd still be sitting on my couch formulating marketing plans, but alas, the timing wasn't meant to be, I have bills to pay, and the word of some people isn't worth much. Well I guess it's time to give up my dreams of being my own boss and go back to working for the man...

If you believe that for even a second then you don't know me at all. Make no doubt about it - I plan on making my return to an office a very successful one, but it will last only as long as it needs to. If I know one thing it's that success doesn't come to those that don't recognize and pursue it. Take, for example, the results of a couple of meetings over the last couple of weeks. To try and help my transition into my new position I've reconnected with some old friendly contacts. After some probing questions I was able to ascertain that 1) they weren't interested in the product I'm currently promoting and 2) their needs fell into line with the type of service I provide with 88MS. If I would have given up on these clients I wouldn't be in the position I am, which I'm proud to say is with one verbal agreement and one project already in the works.

Although I do believe that timing has a lot to do with certain types of success, it is by no fluke that I have found myself in the right place to take advantage of these opportunities. It was through my persistence that I was able to maintain these relationships, recognize opportunity, and finally seize it. With a couple of successes under my belt, I now find myself with renewed confidence.

Some people categorize sales reps as pesky, annoying blood-suckers who are only out to get your money. I prefer to think of good sales people not as pests, but as persistent helpers looking out for the welfare of their clients. At the end of the day, I know that I am passionate about doing what is best for my clients. Without my persistence I wouldn't be successful and I genuinely believe that my clients wouldn't be as successful either.

 

Directional change

I can't believe it's been nearly a month since my last post. It's not like things haven't been happening, it's just that a lot of things have been changing that updating daily would have made it look like there isn't a plan. I definitely have to say that since the middle of November my focus has changed slightly. The ability to change direction on a dime is a great benefit but not a skill that many possess. I dove into the consulting business with both feet, but I have decided to find solid steady employment, focus on the Sched-U-All project, and have 88MS as an add-on. Hopefully it'll get to a point that I can switch to 88MS and Sched-U-All on a full-time basis, but for now I have to do what I have to do.

Now some people have asked me if this is just the first step in me abandoning the whole "Empire" dream. I can understand why they ask because when faced with adversity, the natural inclination for most people is to run to what's comfortable (in this case, being employed). If this last year and a half has taught me anything, the plan for working for any employer is not a long-term venture. Loyalty does not exist any more (some would argue that in sales it never existed in the first place). In my situation, working for someone else is a mean to get to where I want to be without ignoring my current responsibilities. Although I plan on putting my complete effort into this new opportunity, my long-term goal is not to work for anyone else ever again. There is no doubting this.

So what's the point to this post you may be asking. Well quite simply, when your given situation changes, you need to recognize and adapt asap. Never lose sight of your end goal, but don't be afraid to change your path. My old manager Chad Carbno used to always say "There are many ways to climb a mountain." and in my experience, truer words have never been spoken. Sometimes the greatest discoveries are found on detours. So my advice is enjoy the ride, roll with the punches, and remember where you're going.

Creation

Being a father of 3, one might say that I have a good handle on how to create. Artistically, however, my 7 year old can draw better than me. I'm not artistic. I had to accept this at a young age. But not being artistic isn't the same thing as not being creative. Creativity comes in many forms and luckily for me I have been gifted with a creative imagination.

I've always had ideas in my mind. Most of them I thought were too pie-in-the-sky to make reality. Whether it was how to make more money or how to make the world a better place, I always thought that these "ideas" were out of my reach. As people, we convince ourselves that we can't do something, sometimes even before we try. We always imagine things are harder to do than they are. I mean sure, some things are difficult. But in all honesty, the only thing stopping us is ourselves and the amount of effort we're willing to put in.

My "eureka" moment came recently when I discovered how easy it was to create a webpage. I always thought that it took a borderline genius with a strong understanding of how the entire internet worked in order to make a webpage. Now by know means do I kid myself that the site I built is something fantastic (check it out yourself at www.88marketingstyles.ca). It has a cool look to it but overall it's pretty basic. The thing is, I created it. Great or small, it's mine. As I constantly learn more, I'm sure the depth of my web-page creating ability is only going to grow. The thing is, I never thought I could do it but I tried.

So you may be asking "what is the point to this?". Great question - I'm glad you asked. The point is that having the ability to create is not necessarily something that comes natural to everyone. But having the ability to learn how to create does. 30 days ago I was employed in the daily deal industry. My dreams of creating a empire didn't exist. Since then, I've learned how to start my own business, recognize and engage the market for my business, write a blog based on my experiences, register domains and seek out qualified web hosts, create a webpage, and create marketing campaigns. All I did was suck up my fears and dedicate myself to the creation. It IS that easy. Now all you have to do is convince yourself you CAN do something. If you don't think you can, then just try. You might be surprised.    

Rebranding

One of the first lessons I teach businesses when I speak with them is that they need to create their brand. Consistency of a company's brand is paramount in Social Media (unless your strategy is to hit them with many images on all sides). Now I should mention that in most of these cases, the companies I speak with are established with years of service behind them. For newer companies still trying to find their brand, I recommend that they not become married to an idea of who they are. The reason for this is that most new companies don't even know who they are yet.

In my travels, I have heard hilarious stories on how companies have come about their name or logo's. Many times there is no real thought process. When companies brand, they need to ask themselves one big question - what is your long-term goal. Based on that answer, you need to brand accordingly. Take Sustain-A-Deals for example. The name was created out of my frustration with the daily deal industry. My biggest complaint is that in it's current state, the daily deal industry is not sustainable for either the companies running features or the businesses themselves. The naming of SAD spawned from that and conversations I had on the subject. Now is it a horrible name? Not necessarily. It draws on meaning and my intention for the industry. But is is brandable? That in itself is it's weakness in my opinion.

When you have a weakness in your brand and recognize it, you need to act swift on changing it - especially when you plan on becoming a public brand. With that being said, a new name has been recommended that I think fits perfectly. From now on, Sustain-A-Deals will now be known as The Real Deal. By doing this now, it gives the ability to properly brand and not creating confusion further down the road. I mean besides a couple of friends and family, no one knows who SAD was anyways. With a go-live date of early 2012, I think we can create a brand that people and businesses alike can get behind.

In a nutshell, by establishing a brand that will resonate with your market, even if it means rebranding, you will give your business a better chance at being recognized and remembered. At the end of the day, those are 2 values that will help bring your business success.

Things are rolling

I was given two pieces of advice this weekend - 1) stop titling my posts as "days" and 2) start actually writing rather than just a simple Cliff's Notes version. Both pieces of advice were right so from here on I'm going to aim to make this an actual blog. Thanx for the tips ;)

With things going as slow as they appear to be (at least to outsiders), I've been asked if I have any regrets jumping in with both feet. In a word, no. First off, things are absolutely flying. Not only am I on the verge of signing my first contract for 88MS, but after my meeting with Kyle and Jordan on Sunday, it's absolutely exhilarating at what's happening with our group venture. With as many as ideas we have flowing, the thought process to incorporate now under one banner is definitely looking like the best option. This may be the first big mistake or the first great move. That's part of the excitement of this - sure thousands of others have been down this road but there's no real right or wrong way to climb this mountain. In a nutshell, even if it's the wrong move then fine. We'll recognize it and re-strategize. The goal here is to live the next couple of year's like most people wouldn't so we can live the rest of our lives like most people can't.

I guess the first lesson I've learned from this venture is that one must constantly evolve in order to stay ahead of the curve. In my mind at least, I always saw this as a partnership between Kyle and myself. We're both smart, capable guys not afraid of hard work and both with the desire to succeed. Great equation if you ask me. But when I go back to the "smart" part, we also recognize where our weaknesses are. That makes it a necessity to bring on people with skillsets him and I simply don't have. We are very fortunate to have friends, family, and associates who will compliment our ambition and drive to succeed.

That's all for today. Another piece of advice I was given was that I may not need to write every day and I may or may not take that advice. I guess we'll see lol.
Cheers!