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.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Friday, November 11, 2011
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.
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.
Monday, November 7, 2011
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!
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!
Friday, November 4, 2011
Day 13
Unlucky #13. The funny thing is today may in fact turn into a lucky day. Have my final interview with WJ. Although I don't really want the job, it will provide me with a steady income over the next 3 months which will help me build both 88MS and SAD (not too mention help fund the projects Kyle and I have on the go). It's just going to depend on whether or not WJ will allow me to work from home. I'm not the ideal candidate for them considering I kind of want to dictate my terms. I haven't worked in an office environment for nearly 5 years and do not like that prospect at all. Plus, if they make me sign a non-compete clause it may effectively put SAD on the shelve. I'm just waiting on word from Mia regarding the 88 MS contract. Hoping that she gets back to me today but knowing her I'm not expecting a call until Monday lol.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Day 12
Today will just be a follow-up day. Hopefully I'll get confirmation of my first 88MS contract. I have a phone call with WJ tomorrow which will make things very interesting over the next 3 months.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Day 11
Yesterday was a big day. The meeting I had was a great one and should turn into 88MS first contract. Today's goal is to put together the proposal and go from there. On the SAD front, this project may not be on the backburner after all. I still haven't responded to WJ's employment offer and may very well have the interest I'm looking for. I've been conversing with a company based out of the Ukraine about creating and hosting the site and finally got back some answers I was looking for. It may not be as easy as I was once hoping, but far from difficult. I must really say "I love when a plan comes togther." lol
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Day 10
Today could be a big day. Have a meeting with potentially my first contract. Other than that, it's been a little slow. Depending on how today goes I may be picking up the pace a bit.
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