Apple has sold 1 million iPads in it’s first 28 days on the market. That’s an incredible number — especially when measured against the first month sales of its siblings, the iPod and…
I love coming up with new ideas and mostly ideas that revolve around a better way of doing business. After all, it’s my job and I have loved what I’ve done for 10 and a half years now at SOZO | Pivotal. I certainly don’t plan on stopping.
Every client and every project is a new opportunity to do something new and innovative — whether it’s working alongside an entrepreneur in creating an entirely new business model or helping a company better define and craft their message. I love working with passionate clients. I’ve often said in my business and design blog that that’s the only way to have a successful business partnership — when both sides are passionate about a common goal.
That energy and excitement is what makes me pop out of bed every day. It also ensures that no two days are ever alike. I love it that way. By building my own company I’ve been privileged to set the rules and have the opportunity to work on some of my own pet projects while I also pursue my passion for creating brand strategies, corporate messaging and identities for worthy businesses. Some of these are just projects (including a couple of iPhone app concepts that push the limitations and rules of Apple’s app store) while others are significant, long-term business ventures (like co-owning a golf course in northern Michigan).
Like many entrepreneurs, my mind is always thinking of the next big thing. Since January I’ve been creating that “next big thing” and it’s called Fanchise. You may have seen glimpses and hints of it in my posts on Twitter or Facebook, but until now I haven’t been comfortable officially introducing it to the public. It’s still a huge work-in-progress, but it’s ready for you and everyone else to take a look. Until now I’ve shared the concept with a select few — I’ve gotten everything from “that kicks ass” to “it won’t work.” People have thought it to be brilliant and others, well, not so much. I’ve listened to every comment and taken it all into consideration. I’ve been able to answer every question or concern with an enthusiastic and confident response. To me, that’s a sign. I’ve invested considerable amounts of money and time (by the way my time is more valuable to me than my money) into this without flinching.
From the concept to the messaging, Fanchise has been a significant “client” of mine. It’s been a tough project to get my hands around as well. You would think that working on your own business would be easy, but it’s not. Bouncing ideas off yourself is like trying to pick up the chair you’re sitting in. It’s sometimes tough to get anywhere.
I’m not going to go into too much detail here about this concept, but it’s not for the faint of heart. To see how this works requires the ability to get your mind around a vision. I don’t say that necessarily because it’s the greatest thing since perforated toilet paper, but because it’s a fairly complex concept that relies heavily on a finely-tuned message in order for everyone to understand and see where my vision is going with this.
In a nutshell Fanchise is an opportunity for the sports fan to get involved in professional sports on the deepest level they can — by owning a piece of their team. One of the taglines is “Live it. Love it. Own it.” Essentially, it’s your opportunity to wake up from the fantasy (sports) and get real. Buying a ticket and passively watching the game is so yesterday. Calling into sports talk radio is akin to bitching about a problem but then not offering up any real solution. In 2010, bitching without solutions is completely unacceptable. Fanchise puts you — the passionate or passive fan, the business investor and entrepreneur — in control. Do it your way, work together, build a franchise. Simple, right?
Early on in the creation of Fanchise I remember reading this Men’s Journal article while riding on the stationery bike at the gym. Needless to say it was inspiring…and I began to pedal the bike faster. The idea of Fanchise was all up in my head way before I read that column, but Matt Taibbi’s words hit it dead on. I encourage you to read it, but I warn you that looking back on how you follow sports the way you have for so long could leave a bad taste in your mouth.
If you can’t already tell, I’m extremely excited about this. It’s a huge undertaking, I know. But so have all the other successful business ideas that have been worth anything.
So please take a look. Let me know what you think. Your feedback means everything to me and is extremely appreciated.
Thanks for reading…I’d like to leave you with a short, six minute interview with Will Smith. In it Smith talks about his work ethic. I love it. I’m not afraid of dying on a treadmill. Are you? Take a look…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_NhwoRKpi4&feature=youtube_gdata -
Awesome!
You're only as good as your last... -
Apple has sold 1 million iPads in it’s first 28 days on the market. That’s an incredible number — especially when measured against the first month sales of its siblings, the iPod and…
The end of Flash: Another tool that can no longer do the job -
It’s amazing how quickly things come and go in this age of technology. A killer app or product is nothing to take for granted, because in no time at all it could turn into a killed app.
Does your business have a good reason? No? Why not? -
It doesn’t matter if it’s an employee or a vendor, everyone should have a solid reason for the things they do. Otherwise, quite frankly, what they’re doing is just a hobby. Why should be asked…
If you're ready...then just do it. -
I absolutely love Nike’s “Just Do It” tagline. I also really like Harley Davidson’s “Screw It. Let’s Ride.” Regardless of how effective these rallying cries are for the companies that…
“You should be. Only pitchers and catchers have reported.” —
- White Sox bench coach Joey Cora, in response to Andruw Jones’ proclamation, “I’m the best center fielder in camp.”
(via alcentral)
(via onemoretimewithfeeling)
We’ve all made mistakes. Some bigger than others and some more public than others. I don’t think it’s our place to judge Tiger Woods, or any other human being for that matter.
What I am going to judge is how ridiculous a prepared, word-for-word statement sounds when the intent was to provide a sincere apology. Quite frankly, Woods didn’t owe us anything. We’re not close to him. Whether we like it or not, we’re not affected at all by his decisions and actions and if we are we need to reassess a few things in our lives. The closest thing to an explanation or apology we should ever demand from a guy like Woods would be if he suddenly and consistently shot 8 over par, missed every tournament cut and lost his tour card. Now that would call for an explanation.
Whether Woods was sincere or not, we’ll never know. He certainly didn’t convey that in the speech he read. The only takeaway I got out of it was that he’s a terrible speaker and reader. Sincere delivery? Hell no. Genuinely sincere? Perhaps.
I’m not sure what type of flack consults with some of these celebrities and high profile people, but they need to stop and look at what they are doing. The only thing Woods should have taken with him to that podium was a napkin with some bullet points in order to make sure he didn’t forget any key points. The rest should have come from his heart, not from a PR consultants pen. This wasn’t about delivering some kind of emotional and inspiring Gettysburg Address.
The job of a PR person is to consult on the media strategy and direction. They should have consulted with Woods on the structure and key points of his speech rather than writing prose that came out sounding like some sort of C3PO with a nervous, rather than British, accent.
I’ve always been amazed by written statements and prepared speeches. It’s like a wig, does anyone believe it’s real? If you believe today’s press conference was anything more than Woods reading someone else’s copy, well then, I have a full head of hair.
I’m talking to business owners and entrepreneurs everyday. Some are new while others are seasoned professionals in their industry.
One thing they all have in common is that they realize the…