Rich Sloan's Amazon Blog

I’m more excited than ever about the idea of utilizing video as a promotional tool for a business.

Here are some reasons why:

Video is just extremely compelling in this usage.

I just interviewed John McIntyre, founder of PixelFish, and an entrepreneur just like the rest of us.

I asked him what works for video? What are the factors that make for a good one and vice versa.

In the podcast we discuss his concept for “Searchmercials”, which are different from ads on TV. 

There are a half dozen other ideas that we discuss to make a great video - listen to the podcast to find out!

Fact or Fiction: Having a cause associated with your business will actually help the business become more successful financially.

Social impact aside, I am trying to develop data regarding whether a business will perform better financially when there is a "cause" attached to the business that receives a portion of proceeds from that business's revenue.

 

I know that there are very significant, meaningful and genuine reasons to associate a cause with a business. These reasons can go way beyond "making a buck" no doubt. 

But for purposes of this poll, I simply want to get your thoughts on whether having a cause attached creates a financial benefit for the business or the reverse.

 

Opinions are welcome! The stronger the better! But also, feel free to vote without leaving a comment. I am looking for quantitative as well as qualitative data here...

 

I will publish the results at StartupNation and here as well if the data becomes statistically interesting (in terms of total data points).

 

Thanks!

We entrepreneurs are a passionate lot. We’re all driven, each working on transforming our dreams into reality.

That’s why I propose that we entrepreneurs officially make a song from Bruce Springsteen’s latest album - blasted out to the world during halftime at the Super Bowl - the new anthem for entrepreneurs: “Working on a Dream”.

We’re all working on a dream - pushing right through the challenges all around us. Working through the night, making the tough decisions, sticking to our knitting and pressing on undeniably - that’s what it’s all about.

Seems to me that The Boss has captured the whole spirit of what we in the StartupNation community are all about…

I say, wake up each morning and BLARE THIS SONG! And assuming you won’t wake the family, CRANK IT AT NIGHT, TOO! Take inspiration wherever you can get it. It’s little stuff like this - putting yourself in the right mindset and surrounding yourself with healthy, constructive things - that will help you not only “work on” but achieve your dreams.

Pulled a video from YouTube excerpting th actual performance during halftime at the Super Bowl.

Recession. What recession?! Or so goes the attitude of some business owners in this tough economy. Take heart – they’re among a substantial number of businesses that are not getting beaten up these days. In fact, they’re thriving.

Here’s what you can do to become a recession buster, too.

Get searched.  It’s no coincidence that small businesses are creating websites in ever greater numbers. With a little effort, it becomes very easy to get search engines like Google to send you traffic. It’s all a matter of deliberately designing your website and content so that the search engines are attracted to your site and give it priority over other sites with similar content. Tweak a phrase here, add text there and before you know it, you’ll be getting online traffic without spending a dime. It’s up to you to then convert those visitors into paying customers.

Add meaning.  Customers have a harder time “pulling the trigger” on purchases in a down economy. To give them even more impetus to spend their money with you, add meaning to your business by standing for something. Find a cause that you would like to associate with and share a portion of proceeds with that cause. Or better yet, promote to your customers how you and your whole company volunteer for a cause with your time or conduct your business sustainably. The respect you gain will broaden the purchasing decision tree from strictly monetary to ideological and emotional considerations as well.

Create systems.  There are very few things about a business that can’t be standardized. The more predictable, repeatable and reliable your business activities are, the more efficient you become. By studying, streamlining and then documenting a systemized approach to things like customer service, financial management, team communication, marketing, etc., you’ll find that you’ll be able to free your mind of the procedural aspects of your business and focus more time on creative and innovative ways to be valuable to your customers.

Spark word of mouth.  Stop spending on advertising as a first priority. Start figuring out ways to give people something to talk about. Add to that tools that make it easy for word-of-mouth to spread. For example, instead of just sending an e-newsletter featuring products (ho-hum), take it to a new level of buzz worthiness by including a juicy personal commentary, heartstring-pulling story or perhaps an outrageously funny photograph that makes people want to pass the e-newsletter along to someone else. Before you know it, your advertising budget will be zero and your inbound traffic will balloon.

Read about the strategies of the 2008 StartupNation Home-Based 100 Top Ten Recession Busters, which we recently published.

My prediction? Some of the most exciting businesses of the next few years are going to be born in 2009 and grown from 2008 toil.

It's my strong view that the economic duress we're all under as entrepreneurs is going to make us smarter, scrappier, more effective and ultimately far more successful.

To help you along your path to success, click on this video for some basic tips I shared with MSNBC's JJ Ramberg recently:

If you have other strategy ideas to help along fellow entrepreneurs or would like to provide more detail than the overview I was limited to in this short interview, by all means, JUMP IN!

Well folks, next week is my favorite holiday. I love the family time, I love the non-material/inclusive nature of the holiday, and of course, I love the food.

But there’s one thing I love more: Inspiring people to start and grow successful businesses.

That’s why I passionately accepted an invitation from Franchise India, Asia’s largest small business publisher and coordinator for entrepreneurship events, to chair their conference on entrepreneurship this year and to share all that I can about American style entrepreneurship, what works, what doesn’t, how to do it, why to do it, and who it’s for.

Yes, that’s me you see through the dust on that billboard.

The two-day event spans November 28-29 and will be host to an international audience of people wishing to catch the spark of business ownership and successful business growth. While you’re eating turkey with cranberry sauce, I’ll be scrambling for a Tandoori variation on a theme wherever I can find it!

Yes, the global economy is going to belly smack in the months ahead, and the sting may not go away for a while, but one thing is for sure: Entrepreneurship will not slow. In fact, we believe it will speed up. As more and more people are turned away from large employers, they will have to turn to themselves.

And the beauty is, it’s easier than ever to do so. The tools–websites, software, devices, etc.–are there. The culture is there. In fact, working for yourself and working from home are “in”. The outsourcing resources–accountants, web designers, virtual assistants, etc.–are there. Entrepreneurship is tee’d up like never before.

StartupNation community members - the people who LIVE THE DREAM every day - I promise to take your spirit with me to inspire your peers in India and TURN THEM ON to what’s possible. And don’t be surprised if you start seeing a groundswell of them probing for help in the StartupNation entrepreneur forums in the near future.

Keeping in the know re: surveys and stats so you can be armed with market insights...

RingCentral, the hosted business phone service, confirmed today that we small businesses are rapidly cutting overhead costs to adjust to the new reality of a slowing economy. Their survey, completed by small business owners and entrepreneurs across the U.S., reveals that the majority of small businesses (75 percent) have been negatively impacted by the current economy. In response, the majority of small businesses (72 percent) are reducing overhead cost to work more efficiently during tight economic times.

Key results:

Nothing too earth shattering here - but if you're feeling pain at your business, cutting back on unnecessary expenditures, and leveraging efficiency tools like virtual phone systems and strategies like groups of people working from home individually, you're apparently not alone...

It's Halloween this week, so I though I'd give a nod to one of the most, well, "unique" inventions I could get my hands on that have a sort of relationship to the noir nature of Halloween.

Enter the Cruisin' Casket.

This product has an issued U.S. Utility patent, and was invented by the team of Daniel Mendez, Vicky Mendez and Daniel T. Mendez.

Cruisin’ Casket is a car-shaped coffin that enables the car aficionado to rest in a true piece of art, personality and style.  It may embody any make and style of car, ranging from classic muscle cars from the 50s to some of today’s most stylish models.

The specially designed, car-shaped coffin opens as conventional coffins do, with a hinged top portion, and features the same type of upholstered interior as standard coffins. Cruisin’ Casket has a fiberglass body and may come in a variety of paint colors and designs. This innovative item may feature whitewall tires and gold or chrome rims for an extra stylish look.  Like blue instead of port red? How’s this?

Obviously, it’s a nice way to tote those mini kegs, not to mention the front and rear bumpers and side exhaust pipes or lakeside pipes. The side view mirrors, or teardrops, are for decorative purposes. The unit’s mufflers pull out and function as handles for transportation during the funeral procession. 

If the user chooses to invest in this unique piece of art while still alive, it may be utilized for alternative purposes, such as a cooler, before it is put to its permanent use. This ice chest conversion may be made possible by utilizing a replaceable liner kit.

To learn about the steps of licensing your own invention, check out this step-by-step process we provide at StartupNation.

If you’d like assistance on the commercialization of your own invention, check out InventionHome, our very reputable, accountable and effective partner in invention commercialization.

What a country...

Just returning from a Trade Show in Tampa called "WasteCon". It's a gathering of municipalities seeking the latest trends in waste management. Sound fun, huh?

First, I have to say, I can't stand most trade shows. Flourescent lights, cheesy attention-getting gimmicks, noise, schmoozing, long hours standing around, the repetitiveness of it all, hotel rooms. Etc., etc., etc...

HOWEVER, you have to go. You have to get out and into the mix. Everytime I head out to a trade show, I'm filled with dread, anticipating the drudgery of it all, but what I learn everytime is that, if you can tough your way through it, attending trade shows can transform your business.

The intensity of networking, business card collecting, education, getting caught up on trends and the pulse of your industry - especially in high-pressure economic times - is invaluable for your business success.

When you go, be sure to take a box of business cards and hand them out aggressively. Don't be afraid to give multiple cards to individuals you think might pass extras along to other people.

Also, get "off campus" with key people. Activities like golf, dining, etc., can help you form close relationships with people you might not live near and that can help when the business relationship reverts to emails and phone calls.

Have a specific follow up plan for contacts made and follow up IMMEDIATELY upon completion of the trade show or even DURING the trade show while your discussions are fresh in your new contacts' minds.

I say, trade in the dread and get to your industry trade shows. You'll be glad you did.

This stat has always amazed me, reinforced by this recent Warrillow study:

How in the world can this be?! The microbusinesses, so many of which are home-based, are the very ones that most urgently need to leverage the immense power of the web to get in the mix and pick up customers.

In contrast, you can see what some of America's most innovative home-based businessesare up to, 100% of which have a website and enhance their business' performance as a result.

Can you think of a one-person business that would not benefit from a website? The gauntlet has been thrown down...