Thanks for the feedback and suggestions. I have some experience
working on press releases for other projects I've been involved with.
I also have a small list of design and industry related web sites
that I'll be sending samples to. And I'm building a small web site
with online ordering. Paypal makes online transactions very easy with
no up front investments.
The next month should be very interesting as I roll out some
marketing and PR... though the returns on that work may take a whole
longer.
Jesse Milden
>
> Your best investment in getting the word out is FREE PUBLICITY (i.e.
> stories) in your industry's trade pubs. Period. You are unlikely to
> ever get
> your investment back by paying for advertising in those same
> publications,
> until you are already a player with name recognition.
>
Friday, March 10, 2006
Re: reps vs. distributors
Thursday, March 9, 2006
How Come People Don’t Start?
How Come People Don’t Start?
References:
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Folks,
Out of some 800 people on this list, about 8 replied to my request for info on
“how come
people do not start businesses. This of course causes me to wonder just how big
this list is.
About a year ago I was able to cleaqr out any dead emails, etc, thru yahoo
technology, and we
went from about 1100 to 700, all clean live active emails. We’ve added about
100 since then.
I keep no demographics, so I truly have no idea who I am talking to, except
everyone either
read the book or took the class or both.
On to the reasons:
#1. Busy doing what one is doing... so no time to take on more.
#2. Haven’t figured out the thing yet... waiting to come across right idea.
Then there were assorted reasons..
***
You convinced me int’l trade was not for me. (well I like that!)
Problems with the process, timing, etc...
Cannot take any risks....
paralysis by analysis...
I love the deal, not the product...I seek out bargains... (so my arguments are
irrlevent to his
program.)
Lack of confidence...
***
So I am not sure I have learned much with the question, since I am not surprised
that the
common thread is people are busy doing what they are doing. 25 years ago I took
a course
on building a log cabin, and left convinced I’d build one eventually, I left
knowing I could.
Still haven’t gotten around to it yet.
Although that log cabin class was an inspiration for my classes, in the way that
I try to
structure the class so everyone leaves knowing they could start a business.
Not every business idea is viable, hence my emphasis on testing the idea with
custoemrs first.
On the other hand, when I hear of insurmountable problems on what seems a good
idea, I
wonder if it is just a lack of passion for that particular idea, and if the
person ought to be
pursuing something more fascinating to the person.
As to not upsetting the apple cart, avoiding risks, well, it seems to me just as
it is easier to
find a job when you are employed....I think it is easier to start a biz when you
are employed.
Maybe the problem is people think in terms of having to replace one with the
other, when
starting out one’s ambitions, or circumstances may only allow say a couple fo
$5000
importations in a year, very slowly building something good.
There may be another use to all of this, and that is somethiing called cultural
capital. I see
USA fast losing its knowledge of how to start businesses. After 70 years under
the Soviets, it
is gone in Russia, as an extreme case. Just as information gained in say a
college geometry
course may come in handy only once or twice in most graduates’ lives, say saving
some
homeowner time and grief as he figures out spaces in a home remodel... so having
small biz
fundamentals preserved may come in handy at a time and place, or even if only to
caution
some young person about to embark on a business. Cultural capital.
John
Wednesday, March 8, 2006
Re: [spiers] reps vs. distribuutors
Re: [spiers] reps vs. distribuutors
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jesse Milden"
> In my industry (skateboard accessories) I've found that the store
> owners I've talked with buy their products through distributors, not
> through sales reps. - I am contacting some of the larger
> distributors in the country, but do you have recommendations for
> spreading the word to stores across the country about my product? I'm
> thinking about advertising in industry magazines and on industry web
> sites.
Sales reps and distributors are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Most
distributors also use sales reps or brokers, usually in-house, but sometimes
independent, depending upon industry, or size of the distributor.
Your best investment in getting the word out is FREE PUBLICITY (i.e.
stories) in your industry's trade pubs. Period. You are unlikely to ever get
your investment back by paying for advertising in those same publications,
until you are already a player with name recognition.
If you are not well versed in how to do a press release that gets results,
it's easy to find that expertise. You can hire a PR agency, and pay big
bucks for media kits etc that you don't need, or find a stringer or
freelancer who specializes in writing news stories and press releases...
saves a lot of money, and generally more effective. To find one, a good
method is to call the nearest daily newspapers (or trade publications) and
ask them for the editors who handle your industry (e.g. business editor,
food editor, fashion editor, etc) then call that editor and ask for the
names of stringers/freelancers they could recommend. Stringers often take
their own photos, or have existing relationships with freelance
photographers, so you can cover that critical end of the publicity as well.
Malcolm
Tuesday, March 7, 2006
reps vs. distribuutors
Re: [spiers] reps vs. distribuutors
When he sees Patagonia products in a magazine cover or editorial shot that
features any Patagonia
product with the logo visible, the owner of Patagonia mails a check for $500 to
the photographer
who took the shot. Guess what? Photographers are very very careful in making
sure they can get the
$500.
John
I am not in your field but having a reputable web magazine or paper
> magazine to do a review of your accessory can do wonders - sending the
> reviewer a free item, along with the best selling
> points..
reps vs. distribuutors
Re: [spiers] reps vs. distribuutors
>
> In my industry (skateboard accessories) I've found that the store
> owners I've talked with buy their products through distributors, not
> through sales reps. -
***A key early step is to learn the exact distribution structure in your
industry...congrats, it
sounds like you've got it down...***
I am contacting some of the larger
> distributors in the country, but do you have recommendations for
> spreading the word to stores across the country about my product? I'm
> thinking about advertising in industry magazines and on industry web
> sites.
***Before the dot.com boom people commonly felt "if I can only get it out there
it will sell
well" and the dot.com boom brought us "if I can only get the word out" which has
a kind of
admirable efficiency. Just talk about it and good things will happen. I don't
think so.
First, whether big or small, you need the distributors your customers want. Go
to your
favorite boarding store, drop your items in front of them, DO NOT TRY TO MAKE A
SALE, just
ask what the people in the stores thing. And if they were to order, what would
the quatities
and terms be, etc. And make clear you are not interested in making a sale,
since you are too
busy working on your new items, naturement! But if they were to order, or
wanted to order,
then what distributor would they expect to see items like yours being handled.
Then take all this to that very distributor.
Forget about EVER advertising yourself. a complete waste of time. Read Ogilvy
on
Advertising to get a consumers guide to advertising, from the grand master
himself.
http://tinyurl.com/kkda9
In the meantime, offer "ad allowances" of say 10% which cause the stores to put
your items in
their ads, which increas sales and cause their peers and competitors to seek out
your items
as well. and in this way nothing out of pocket for you... this ad allowance is
in my book, if
you need more info, let me know.
Keep us posted on how it goes...
John
reps vs. distribuutors
Re: [spiers] reps vs. distribuutors
Hi Jesse,
I am not in your field but having a reputable web magazine or paper
magazine to do a review of your accessory can do wonders - sending the
reviewer a free item, along with the best selling
points.............................or find a skateboard forum and send
a free sample to the top participates, if they like it they may talk
about it on the forum or recommend it to other people.
If you can find a skateboarding contest with big name contestants, and
your product is not too expensive to give away.............. give out
freebees - be sure to include your website or contact information. I
would imagine image and good graphics would be very important in
skateboarding, a strong cool label easy to remember.
This has worked well for us in the photo accessory business.
Susan
On Mar 7, 2006, at 10:59 AM, Jesse Milden wrote:
> John,
>
> In my industry (skateboard accessories) I've found that the storeÂ
> owners I've talked with buy their products through distributors, notÂ
> through sales reps. -Â I am contacting some of the largerÂ
> distributors in the country, but do you have recommendations forÂ
> spreading the word to stores across the country about my product? I'mÂ
> thinking about advertising in industry magazines and on industry webÂ
> sites.
>
> any suggestions would be appreciated.
>
> thank you
>
> Jesse Milden
>
>
>
>
> Compete on Design!
>
> www.johnspiers.com
reps vs. distribuutors
John,
In my industry (skateboard accessories) I've found that the store
owners I've talked with buy their products through distributors, not
through sales reps. - I am contacting some of the larger
distributors in the country, but do you have recommendations for
spreading the word to stores across the country about my product? I'm
thinking about advertising in industry magazines and on industry web
sites.
any suggestions would be appreciated.
thank you
Jesse Milden
Monday, March 6, 2006
Buffet on World Trade
Folks,
Warren Buffet has spoken, and what he has to say about world trade is
interesting...
http://biz.yahoo.com/usat/060304/13441041.html
John
Medicine Biz Oppty
Folks,
Comes a medical researcher claiming something is amiss with the AIDS HIV
construct. The
way she talks, the government is doing for homosexuals with AIDS what it did for
blacks in
the Tuskegee experiments.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig7/culshaw1.html
I was Christmas shopping in London with my mother circa 1990 when we took a
break and
sat in a cafe where a table was just vacated by a trio, two nearly carrying one,
the one
obviously having his last Christmas ever. I am no doctor, but the lesions and
look sure
screamed "AIDS" to me.
My mother and I sat with our soda waters and engaged in a lively discussion that
enhanced
my thirst. I took a long deep draft of the apple juice... my mind collapsed...
apple juice? Not
soda water? Yes, the unfinished apple juice of the "aids victim" just departed,
soon to be
dearly departed. I scooted across the street directly to a Pub and ordered "the
highest proof
you've got" and was served Lamb's Navy Rum, 151 proof, not permitted for sale in
USA. With
this I washed my mouth and lips liberally, spitting it onto the floor, then
recalled the barkeep
for another. "Bad day?" he inquired. This I downed to chase what it may. Soon
my mother
caught up, pleased she had won our debate, if only by forfeit, and decided since
I was
drinking heavily she would join me with a martini, vodka, twist of lemon. I get
a death
sentence, and she orders a martini. Some mom.
Later she shared her belief the AIDS thing was all nonsense, and since she spent
20 years at
University of Washington Medical School working research projects, maybe she had
a reason
to find my reaction amusing. "Let's go back and you can have some apple juice
too," I
offered. No thanks, she said, she'd stick with her martini.
On another occasion an ill-looking homosexual managed to accidently spit while
conversing
with me during a business meeting, his fluids landing literally in my eye,
mixing with my
fluids. Yikes! He turned sheet white and was about to apologize when I waved
him off, what
with me a dead man anyway, although he did not know that. I could afford to
show some
class for once, and he thought I was someone terrific. Please no one tell him
different.
15 plus years later, only scars and broken bones, all self-inflicted, but no
AIDS. So, if we
have another bogus problem on our hands, where is the product or service in
response? For
my part, I keep a bottle of Lamb's Navy Rum, 151 proof, stocked in my bar, which
I pick up
overseas. It prevents AIDS.
John
We Pay Most for Food
Folks,
Following the theme that USA pays the most, now comes James Bovard with a wee
expose on
food...
http://www.lewrockwell.com/bovard/bovard22.html
I recall Nixon's Secretary of Agriculture speaking to USA farmers circa 1972
saying "get big
or get out." Destroying the family farm is government policy, and remains so,
through many
democrat and republican administrations, in spite of the fact that under a
Jeffersonian milieu,
the family farm thrived indeed.
With massive agribiz, bird flu in chicken and mad cow in beef has an easier time
spreading.
But an interesting note is this policy of keeping prices high can indeed go on,
for a very long
time... high priced food as a policy has been around longer than high priced
oil.
And also, one might argue that the price of chicken, nominally and relatively,
has fallen in the
last 50 years, I'd argue "it ain't the same chicken." What did you get in
nourishment from a
chicken 50 years ago vs today?
I buy the free range, organic (whatever that means) chickens from the hippies.
I pay a huge
price over what I can get from Safeway. But, I know the chicken tastes far
better, I bet the
nourishment is exponentially higher, plus I bet the price per pound is lower
than similar
chicken was 50 years ago, what with the hippies using somewhat advanced methods,
and
distribution costs dropping with trucking deregulation. And when I boil free
range chicken
bones in water I get a delicious broth. When I boil Safeway chicken bones I get
hot water.
This of course is similarly true of wheat and corn and apples and pears, etc.
John
Service Exporter Tells Some
Folks,
Here is a how to from an American who sells software to Europeans, one CD at a
time, or
download as the case may be... plus a product idea...
***
The store is my website. My sales are facilitated and tracked through PayPal.
The customer
uses whatever currency and then PayPal makes a conversion to USD and takes a
fee.
Disgruntled but dutiful, I report the income on Schedule C for the feds.
Because my product can be put on a CD, I reverse engineered the Netflix
envelope and enjoy
the international USPS airletter rate (84 cents). With the airletter, I don't
have to wait in line or
deal with the droid at the p.o. asking me customs questions.
I also use PayPal for the exported service. For rendering the service, I use
Windows
Messenger chat to communicate. I post files for downloading on an ftp server
with Doteasy.
PayPal is all an electronic transfer of funds so I can't frame an actual dollar
from my first sale.
Although, I think that would be a good idea if PayPal had a service that mailed
a framed unit
of paper currency from your first export sale of the country you did business
with. That
would be a good lead for anyone that had a passion for frames, I guess.
***
Sunday, March 5, 2006
We Pay the Most for Oil
Re: [spiers] We Pay the Most for Oil
On Fri, 3 Mar 2006 13:51:07 -0800 (PST), M A Granich
:
> > (Never mind the
> > SUV was a response to mileage rules
> > killing the family station wagon).
>
> I contend People buy SUVs because that is what they
> want.
***Yes, a rational choice once all of the effects of subsidies, protections,
restriction, etc
imposed on the market shake out and settle down, the customer then rules.***
The fuel efficiency of the Station Wagon,
> regardless of government requirements, has very little
> if anything to do with its demise. The station wagon
> tanked because the SUV is a better choice. However,
> fuel efficiancy of the SUV has killed sales as the
> price of gas has risen.
***What about the problem of 3 years of giving away SUV's at a cost lower than
they make
them... with all of the incentives, might there have been other factors? Is it
possible the SUV
portion of the market is satiated, for now?***
The government could save the
> SUV by imposing fuel efficiency requirements on them.
***Is that the governments job, of an auto companies job? If both, why ought the
government help the auto industry, and not the glassware importers industry?***
> There is something else going on but I don't know
> what. You can certainly make a more fuel efficient
> SUV but car companies are not, Why?... Boeing
> Aircraft makes fuel efficient airplanes because that
> is what its customers want and need to stay
> profitable. Wouldn't John Q Public want the same
> thing?
>
***Yes, a rational choice once all of the effects of subsidies, protections,
restriction, etc
imposed on the market shake out and settle down, the producer then rules.***
> > It is government policy USA pays the most. This is
> > no secret, And it is no secret the oil
> > companies have done tremendously well, the best
> > ever, with this policy.
>
> I'm only an armchair economist, but.... This policy
> could not be sustained. The higher the price for oil,
> the more the door opens for alternatives. And, high
> oil prices hurt the economy by driving up costs.
> People spend less, factories produce less, people
> loose jobs, etc... then you kill off demand for oil.
> Oil companies would be shooting themselves in the foot
> if they supported this.
>
***Yes, like the US Steel industry, like the US Auto industry, like the US
garment industry, like
the US furniture industry, like the dot.com deal, housing, food and medicine are
in line for
their turn...it how it works when big biz signs on with big govt.***
John