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When I was 16 years old, I landed a great job working for ARA Services, selling popcorn and sodas at The Providence Civic Center. Yes, I was that guy, yelling “Popcorn here!” and “Ice cold Coke”, shlepping those tasty treats up and down the aisles to make a few bucks.
My very first gig was an 8-show run of The Ringling Bros Barnum & Bailey Circus, and it was great fun. By the end of the week, I knew the entire script for the show and saw plenty of amazing theatrics. The clowns, the trapeze artists, the way the lions wouldn’t attack - it was a fantastic performance with a winning formula. More importantly, I learned how to read the nuances of the audience in order to maximize my sales. After a little practice and a show or two worth ...
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Our 2-year old son Oliver loves cookies. These tasty treats have become a daily request from him. My wife and I usually give in to these demands, and do our best to provide the cookie as a reward for his good behavior. This is standard parenting 101.
Oliver actually learned about cookies from getting his haircut. At the end of those traumatic experiences, the woman who cuts his hair gives him a little bag of cookies to make it worth his while to come back the next time. And that little trick works wonders.
In fact, this morning, Oliver proactively told me that he wants to get his haircut. I had to laugh. This wasn’t about grooming or improving his style; it was about the cookies, of course. But chances are, he’d prefer to skip the ...
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It was an exciting day today for the owners of Pandora, the widely used personalized internet service, as they ventured out to the public markets. Investors jumped on newly issued shares, and their highly anticipated IPO has earned them a $3 billion market valuation. These funds will enable the company to offer new and distinctive services for its current registered user base of more than 90 million people.
Music lovers like me rejoice with this news. The influx of capital should secure the company’s existence for some time, giving it enough runway to figure out the business model that can support its operations.
As readers of this blog may know, I’ve spent a lot of time worrying about HealthTalker’s runway over the years. The ...
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Last night, my wife and I had dinner with some friends who we hadn’t seen in a while. My friend Chris was asking me about my business, and wanted to hear about my experiences over the past few years since I had started HealthTalker. As I reflected on my entrepreneurial journey, I realized that there are quite a few similarities to what travelers hear from flight attendants before their plane departs from the gate. So in homage to the FAA and their infinite wisdom, here are four important pieces of advice for running a small business.
As we get ready to depart, please fasten your seat belt low and tight across your waist. In other words, buckle up, pal, and be forewarned! This flight - this little business you’d like to start because ...
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Guy Kawasaki was the Chief Evangelist for Apple Computers in the 1980s. His job at the company centered around spreading the gospel about the value that Apple provided, and why the small Silicon Valley upstart offered a superior product to the larger, established operating systems. Fast forward 25 years, and it’s easy to understand the power that can come from passionate believers who get excited about remarkable products. Books like The Pursuit of Wow! by Tom Peters and Purple Cow by Seth Godin emphasize how important it is for organizations to create breakthrough products and services that stimulate conversation, based on the very principle of how distinguishing they are in the marketplace.
So as a student of this type of marketing, ...
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Today is the day to settle up with Uncle Sam and pay whatever taxes you may owe. For some reason, this annual event sneaks up on many people, causing them to spend the last 48 hours gathering all of their tax documents, pouring over TurboTax to tally their figures, then standing in line at the post office to mail in before the deadline. I was in New York City one year ago at this time, and was amazed by the massive line of people, racing the clock as they stood in line for that magical stamp.
But my post today isn’t about our taxes, or about why people wait to pay them. It’s more about what certainties exist in our world, and what marketers can learn from this lesson.
There is a famous quote attributed to Ben Franklin that states that ...
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I’m pretty excited to start Guy Kawasaki’s newest book, Enchantment. I’m a big fan of his work, and this new release focuses on a topic that is taking on greater meaning than ever for me: doing the right thing, and the positive effect of those actions. When you are good for your word, when you deliver on your promises, and when you give back, you earn social currency. Your opinion becomes more influential, your trust levels increase, and your word of mouth power grows exponentially.
I’ve been thinking more and more about reputation management, and what it means for individuals and for brands. I’m not talking about guys like Tiger Woods who screwed up their reputation, or Charlie Sheen and his torpedo of truth (though his meteoric ...
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Ever since I started HealthTalker, people told me that I was crazy for believing that consumers would willingly participate in programs without any form of compensation. For years, I’ve been studying the word of mouth dynamics in the healthcare space, and have argued two key points about the motivations for people to spread the word.
First, I’ve always believed that people want to feel like they are part of something larger than themselves. I’ve seen this same theme repeated in the research that we conduct with potential participants, and I’ve read it in some of my favorite books about this topic. Many participants in our programs report that the very idea of belonging to a nationwide movement makes them feel valued, and that they earn ...
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My wife and I just returned from a week-long vacation with our 23-month-old son Oliver, visiting my in-laws in Florida. Yes, the weather was great (and no, the food wasn’t) - but what really made the vacation spectacular was the effect it had on the way my son and I now relate to one another. I am amazed by the pronounced difference in our relationship as a result of being able to spend so much time together - in person. Don’t get me wrong - we have always had a closeness and lots of affection, but like most working dads, I have been second fiddle to “mommy” (and for good reason!). But after spending seven days in the pool, singing countless repetitions of The Wheels on the Bus, playing with puzzles, making up games, and having lots of ...
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Four years ago today, on February 20th 2007, I spent the best $35 I’ve ever spent and purchased the URL HealthTalker.com. I had been searching for just the right name for a word of mouth company I was thinking about launching, and after countless searches, I had found the one I wanted. And at that moment, I made the commitment to pursue my entrepreneurial endeavors, and give this a shot.
Over the last few years, I have been living through such an incredible journey, full of exhilarating highs and challenging lows that come from running a small business. As I reflect on this experience, I thought I’d share a few things that you may not have known about what happened along the way:
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Observations, commentary and perspectives on word of mouth, life in a start-up, and the challenges of the pharma industry.
