Happy Thanksgiving and The Scrantons

I took this holiday weekend to rest and relax with my family. But as so often happens, after 4 days we all needed some "alone time." My time was spent reading on my favorite subject...the industrial rise of the American Super Economy from the 1840's through the early 1900's. This weekend's reading included the history of the Scranton Group/Family (Scranton, PA) who founded one of America's earliest and most successful iron works, rail lines, and towns in the wilderness of Lackawanna Valley, PA. For any entrepreneurs out there who may read this blog I encourage you to look up the story of the Scranton family/group. These men had vision, but encountered obsticles ranging from poor site location, difficult materials sourcing, political haggling (town of Wilkes Barre didn't want them) to the cry from Socialist leaders to re-distribute the wealth they amassed. Now, one thing should also be noted...most of the Scranton group died in abject poverty. Only three of the original 8-10 group members had any money at all when they died. I don't tell you about this story to impress you (as if I could) regarding my reading selection, but rather to impress upon other entrepreneurs that all of the headwinds we encounter today were also present in 1840! As we go forward into 2010 it will be important to realize that we are not alone in the challenges we face. Men and women of vision who have come before us also encountered issues of a similar nature and that were no less troublesomme. For those of you who have plantd your flag in the ground and staked out your claim, I salute you and wish you all the best today and always!

Dave J.

Craigslist - Whew

This past Sunday I decided to put an ad on Craigslist for designers to come work with our agency. Boy was that ever like drinking from a fire hose. Within a span of 24 hours we had over 500 resumes, portfolio links, and letters of introduction. I was/am amazed! To all those that sent in your information I am truly grateful and also impressed. I sincerely wish that I had time to speak to all of you but that's way more than I or my staff can handle right now (with trying to keep up with clients and all). That being said I wish everyone out there a very Happy Thanksgiving and hold the very best of thoughts for you as we head towards 2010!

Best Always,
Dave J

8 Items for business success :58 seconds to read

Want to be successful? ...sure! There are tons of books and/or online informational sites that can give you "keys" to success. But when it comes down to it, the following 8 items will serve you just as well (in a broad sense) as anything out there. I've spent my life building companies and these following items have played the major part in every success I've had. Pay attention and satisfy these simple requirements and you'll be well on your way to building a successful/profitable business.

Your product and/or service must be fully developed and ready to roll out

Too many business professionals are in such a rush to get to market that they roll the vehicle off the line before all 4 wheels are firmly in place. Keep the news of your launch to yourself and very few others beforehand if you're worried about the competitive conditions in the marketplace...finish up the offering, THEN LAUNCH!

Your product and/or service must fill a need for "the masses."

Old adage in the food business..."feed the masses (think McDonalds) and you'll live with the classes - feed the classes (upscale dining) and you'll live with the masses." It's the same with any product or service. The broader the need or want for what you have, the more upside potential.

Your product and/or service must be priced fairly

More important than ever these days...with people watching their pennies and the availability to price compare over the Internet you had better have done your homework on what is fair to charge.

Your product and/or service must be different and/or better from other solutions currently available.(Have a unique value proposition...don't have one? Come up with one...otherwise you're just more "white noise" in a busy marketplace)

I cannot stress this one enough. If you're not the first into a particular competitive set you'd have better built the better mousetrap and have done so in such a way as people are going to recognize that it's better. And you'd better have a good one sentence "grabber" that will convey the unique/better nature of your offering!

Your marketing must answer the question as to how your product and/or service, in some way, makes the consumer's life better.

Everything we purchase answers this question. Whether it's the clothes you buy that you believe make you look slimmer, the truck that has enough payload capacity to get your jobs done, the home that's in the right neighborhood/school district, to the church that has the pastor who's message really feeds your soul. Each and every selection/purchase we make we "feel" as though makes our lives better. Customers must readily be able to determine how your product and/or service makes their life better. Only then will they purchase!

Have a strategy for getting the product and/or service and subsequent value proposition in front of the masses. (repeatedly and effectively)

People won't buy it if they don't know it's there...DUH! (no, seriously, there are people out there who don't realize this...I'm not kidding...hard to believe, I know. But they're out there - and we wonder why 80%+ of new businesses fail)

Realize that in marketing the message is more important than placement and frequency. (It's more about what you're saying and if your audience can relate)

I can go out and say iAdvertizing is great, we do, x,y and z for you...blah, blah, blah, but if I say. "iAdvertizing clients make more money..even in this crappy economy!" You get the idea...

Follow through ...Work, work, work! the above items and you're well on your way!



Best Always,
Dave J.

The New Robber Barons

Those who study American history are undoubtedly familiar with the late 19th century titans of industry who were dubbed the "Robber Barons." They were named such for their cutthroat business tactics and their iron will. They were seen as the Great White Sharks of industry...devouring all who opposed them and accumulating great wealth.

This morning I have just returned from Asheville, NC where my family and I visited (for the umpteenth time) the Biltmore Estate. This house, for those who may not know, is still America's largest private residence...3 times the size of the White House. This massive estate was built by George Washington Vanderbilt, youngest grandson of "The Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, founder of the family fortune and who, along with John Jacob Astor is widely accepted as one of the "original" Robber Barons. Now, this trip to Biltmore, as I've already stated, is one that our family has made many times before, but today it just seems a bit more relevant. You see, when I returned home I sat down at my desk, opened my e-mail and actually watched an info-mercial (yep, guilty as charged) on the Internet about the "New Robber Barons." This particular pitchman said that the new robber barons were the folks who signed up for a specific type of commodity trading account, and therefore it was implied that those who did not, by default, were excluded from ever hoping to achieve the greatness in industry that is each American's to seek. I thought this to be a bit dismissive and otherwise slighting! You see, the robber barons of old (Carnegie, Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Morgan, Gould, etc.) and the inventors that followed (Ford, Edison, Dodge, Bell, etc.)gained their success through foresight and innovation. Was such an info-mercial as I watched last night around for them or when current titans such as Bill Gates or Steve Jobs had their groundbreaking ideas and helped to usher in the mass-acceptance of the computer age? Would they have been excluded from success for not taking advantage of such an offer? I believe not! This type of advertising, preying on people's fear while conjuring up the ghosts of past success is, to me, like saying to a new driver..."make sure to only pay attention to what's going on inside the car or only in the rear-view mirror." We all know that driving this way will put you in a ditch...but fast! I'm rambling about this today, but it just seems to me that if we're really trying to empower and energize people to become the next innovator and/or Captain of industry, a better approach for those wishing to become such is to study the past, but look steadily forward, rely on your own steam, and figure out what issues and/or needs need to be addressed to make the country a better place. Create, innovate, serve...for the one thing that (for all their faults) the Robber Barons of old did...they created! Sure, they were tough-minded, iron-willed, and in some instances just not nice people, but in their collective wake they left mines, railroads, refineries, pipelines, banks, brokerages, etc. Items and institutions that would serve our country, produce jobs, and propel us forward for many generations to come. That's what will bring America back...creation of opportunity...not setting up some personal commodity trading account! Want to be a New Robber Baron, think like an old Robber Baron...now you'll have to excuse me... I have to get out there and create something!
Best Always,
Dave J.