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August 22, 2011 By 9 Comments

Why do I make so much noise about ROWE?

Why do I make so much noise about ROWE?

Warning: this is a very open, transparent, personal post. It’s a slightly deeper dive into my brain and my emotions than you normally get in this blog. I hope that’s ok with you. If so, read on.

So my friends all know that I work in (and own) a ROWE (Results-Only Work Environment) and they are probably sick of hearing about it. When they talk about their jobs and the 9 to 5 grind, I try my best to keep my mouth shut but it’s tough. You see, I look at work from a different perspective now.

I sometimes tell people that I look back at our pre-ROWE days at SpinWeb and it seems like the Dark Ages. They laugh when I say this but I’m dead serious. It’s almost impossible to truly describe what a ROWE is like until you experience it. I thought SpinWeb was “flexible” before but after going ROWE, it was obvious that we didn’t truly get it until we went through the training. The Indianapolis Star did a nice story on this recently.

Even if you think you’re already a ROWE, you’re probably not. Trust me.

So I’m making a lot of noise about it right now to the point that I’m sure plenty of people are sick of hearing about it (sorry)! Why am I doing this?

Imagine that you lived in a town where everyone drove broken cars. Their cars were all broken because they were running on a certain type of fuel that had been around for a while but was no longer good for the engine. The fuel was no longer meeting the needs of the modern cars but that everyone just accepted this fuel as the norm. Some cars ran better than others but in general, they all puttered along, frequently broke down, and generally weren’t all that efficient. Because of this, everyone in your town was always complaining about driving and about what a chore it was to get anywhere. Then, one day, you discovered a different, newer kind of fuel that cleaned your engine, made your car more reliable, and helped it run faster. By using this fuel, your car ended up running at speeds twice as fast as all the other cars, stayed clean and efficient, and hardly ever needed repair. Suddenly you could get from point A to point B in record time and driving even became fun! Your productivity shot through the roof and no one else could keep up.

What would you do?

Well, I’m guessing you would tell everyone around you about it. Now, imagine that you started telling everyone to go buy this new type of fuel, but instead of getting excited, you got responses like “that new kind of fuel sounds scary,” and “my car would never accept it,” and “my husband/wife wouldn’t be interested in hearing about it.”

Would you start to look around in disbelief? Would you be completely baffled at the resistance? Would you have any explanation for why your friends and neighbors were not interested in getting their broken cars to run like yours?

This is exactly how I feel about ROWE. My company has been a ROWE for about three years and I cannot even begin to explain the difference. Here are some specific things that have happened since going ROWE:

  • Productivity has literally doubled (measured by number of projects completed weighed against number of people)
  • Employee retention is at an all time high
  • Employee satisfaction is at an all time high
  • Customer service is at an all time high
  • Employees are motivated to work faster and find better ways to get things done
  • Process improvement is in overdrive
  • Employees are able to spend more time with their families then ever before
  • Employees have their lives back

These things are real. These things matter. These things are good for business.

So this is why I make so much noise about ROWE. The traditional workplace is broken. Some workplaces are more broken than others, but most are basically broken. ROWE fixes it. It’s that simple and that life-changing.

ROWE is good for both employees and bosses. It’s easy to see why employees love it but bosses are frequently terrified of it. It doesn’t have to be that way. I cannot make this point enough: ROWE is good for business. It’s proven. It works.

So this is why I am co-presenting a ROWE Bootcamp in Indianapolis on September 13th. Yes, it costs money. I understand that this may seem like a deterrent to some. We are flying in Christy Runningen who is a seasoned ROWE facilitator and HR expert. We are paying for travel expenses. We are paying for materials. We are paying for support. We are putting resources into making this a fantastic training event. It takes time, effort, and money to do this but we are passionate about bringing ROWE to others because it’s simply the right thing to do.

Many other organizations have gone ROWE and are now (like me) looking around in disbelief at the traditional workplaces around them, wondering “why is everyone still working like it’s 1950?” This is why you see such passion and zeal among people who have embraced it.

So, I hope this explains why I make so much noise about ROWE and why I want to see as many open-minded, progressive, productivity-focused small businesses/departments as possible at the ROWE Bootcamp. If you’re undecided, you may want to consider attending the upcoming informational conference call. In order to make ROWE a reality, bosses need to listen, understand, and accept the training that is available. Additionally, employees need to speak up.

So forgive me if I get a little over-zealous but I wish you could see ROWE from the other side and how it truly transforms lives and businesses. And while everyone else is busy making schedules, punching the clock, and spending half the day in meetings, we’ll all be producing results like never before.

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Productivity Tagged With: , ,
August 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Course correcting as a professional speaker

Course correcting as a professional speaker

Yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking at Blog Indiana. If you’re not familiar with it, Blog Indiana is a popular blogging and social media conference in Indianapolis and is very well attended and includes some great content.

So I gave a presentation called “Internet Marketing in 90 Minutes a Week” during the afternoon slot. Now normally, I am pretty confident in my speaking. I usually get great feedback, I spend hours and hours tweaking my content to be very high value, and I genuinely love connecting with the audience.

However, at Blog Indiana I did not have an outstanding experience. It started off with some technical glitches that involved me having to use a handheld microphone instead of a lapel mic (I hate handheld mics!) so that sort of bummed me out. However, the real problem was how I was targeting my presentation. Because my title was catchy, I filled the room and they had to open up the side wall in order to accomodate everyone who attended. This was awesome and as a speaker I love to see this. However, as I was giving my presentation, I started to realize that I had made a mistake.

My presentation was not about Internet marketing, it was about content marketing – which is much more specific. In my effort to create a catchy, demand-creating title, I had boxed myself into a corner of having to deliver something sensational to a crowd that included some pretty savvy marketers. To be fair, their were some beginners in the crowd, as well, who learned a lot but a lot of the attendees were already doing a many of things I was covering and were probably not all that impressed.

As I continued the presentation, I got more and more upset with myself for getting the title out of sync with the content and I felt terrible for incorrectly setting expectations. My presentation was a great overview of how to be productive with a content marketing plan but I could tell that a lot of the attendees were there to be wowed by my supposed ability to boil all of Internet marketing down to 90 minutes.

The presentation went ok and didn’t bomb or anything and I even got some decent feedback afterward, but since I’m a perfectionist I was pretty bummed. I beat myself up over it and got really upset.

I was even more upset because I was giving the same presentation the next day as a webinar. How could I repeat the same mistake? Then I realized that I didn’t have to. Two hours before the webinar, I changed the title, tweaked a few slides to get even more specific, and then presented “Content Marketing in 90 Minutes a Week.” Guess what? It went great. I could tell that my message was flowing logically, my content was accurate and relevant, and I got a ton of great questions and lots of positive feedback afterward.

What did I learn? Well, one thing I learned was that I need to be careful when creating presentation titles. I tend to come up with titles first and then create the presentation afterward which can sometimes backfire. More importantly, however, I learned that it’s ok to fail and then course correct. Not every presentation is going to be a 100% knockout. Sometimes I will make a mistake and deliver 73%. As long as I understand what went wrong and can course correct, it makes me a better speaker.

Was it a little awkward to change my title two hours before the presentation? Sure, a little. But all I had to do was explain very honestly why I did it at the beginning of the presentation and then it was on to delivery. It wasn’t awkward because I believed in my message again.

Has anyone else had experiences like this as a speaker? I would love to hear your stories in the comments below.

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Marketing, Productivity Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
July 3, 2011 By 1 Comment

What your business can learn from the Mormon Church

For those who may not be aware, I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Other less formal labels for this denomination include “LDS” and “Mormon.” My faith is a source of great happiness in my life and I am always happy to answer questions about it. However, this post is not about religion, so I would ask that if you have any religious questions about the LDS faith, please contact me directly and I will be happy to discuss.

The LDS Church is one of the largest religions in the world. It has over 14 million members and is the second-fastest growing church in the U.S., according to the National Council of Churches. Other statistics on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can be found in the LDS Newsroom.

All spiritual debates aside, it’s easy to see that the LDS Church is doing something right. What are the Mormons doing that has lead to such dramatic and steady growth and how can it apply to your business?

Strong systems

The Mormon church is extremely systematic about everything from building churches and temples to teaching sunday school. If you go to a Mormon church anywhere in the world, you will find that they all follow the same meeting agendas, the same processes, and even teach the same lessons. If you attend a church meeting one Sunday in Indianapolis and then attend a meeting the following Sunday in California, it will be very familiar and you will be be able to stay on the same lesson plan. If the Mormon Church wants to form a new congregation, it follows a proven system for setting up the meetinghouse and can very quickly set in motion a process to get it up and running (complete with local clergy) very quickly and with very few issues. This saves time and money.

In a similar fashion, your business can benefit from strong systems that allow you to execute tasks and projects quickly and consistently. If you have proven systems for sales, marketing, product delivery, and customer service, your business will run much more efficiently and enjoy faster growth. If you’re unfamiliar with creating business systems, check out The E-Myth (affiliate link).

Member empowerment

The LDS Church makes it a high priority to encourage members to share their faith with others. In fact, one of the three main components of the mission of the church is “to proclaim the gospel.” Church members are encouraged to talk about their faith, share information with others, and speak openly about religion. This creates a culture that empowers all members to become “marketers” for the church. They are encouraged to follow their enthusiasm for their faith and make it a part of their everyday lives and communications. As a result, almost every member of the LDS church is prepared and eager to be a polite but ardent evangelist for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Your business can also turn employees into evangelists. If you continuously encourage your employees to talk about your company with others, share your brand, and openly talk about their jobs, your company will enjoy greater name recognition and awareness. This will result in more leads and potential customers. Empower your team to use tools like social media to inform the public what your company is all about.

Training

The Mormon Church has a phenomenal training program for its 52,000+ missionaries around the world (who are volunteers, by the way). Before serving, a missionary must spend anywhere from three weeks to three months in a training program that helps them utilize systems, processes, and procedures for reaching prospective new members. Every missionary goes through the exact same proven training process. If some part of the process is improved, it is rolled out to every missionary in the world. The Mormon Church is very serious about proper training and equips its missionaries with the systems and support they need to be successful.

Does your business provide sales training? If not, it might be worth considering. Proper sales training gets all your sales people on the same page, gives them a system to follow, and provides ongoing coaching. My favorite sales system is the Sandler system. If you’re in the Indianapolis area, I recommend Trustpointe or Lushin.

Rapid embracing of technology

Technology evolves at an frenzied pace and it can sometimes be difficult to keep up. However, the Mormon Church sees almost every form of new technology as an opportunity to grow the church’s brand and message. You’ll find that the church has a presence on just about every major social network in use today and even organizes messaging among specific focus areas, including newsroom communications, and member training just to name a few. The church has an incredibly strong SEO strategy which brings lots of relevant traffic to its websites. Additionally, the Mormon Church facilitates messaging through the use of apps, blogs, video, mobile, podcasts, and email. The church even has web portals and apps that allow all members of a congregation to instantly download directories and leadership information directly to their phones in order to facilitate easy communication between members. Most church buildings also now have wireless Internet access in order to encourage members to make use of these technologies as learning aids.

Your business can also benefit by embracing new technologies. If you look at each new form of technology as an opportunity to share your message, your brand will travel faster and your business will grow. Just as the Mormon Church does, carefully study each new tool or technology that evolves, decide how it can strengthen your brand messaging, and then deliberately integrate it into your business.

Partnerships

The Mormon Church does not see other religions as competition. Instead, church leaders throughout the world work with leaders of other faiths to serve and provide humanitarian relief. Some notable examples include Indian Ocean tsunami relief efforts in which the Mormon Church partnered with Islamic leaders and the church’s partnership with the Catholic Church to bring aid to Niger. Other less-dramatic events include interfaith concerts and other social events.

In a similar fashion, your business can also grow faster by leveraging partnerships. Instead of viewing other businesses in your space as competitors, try reaching out to them and looking for ways to work together. Not every prospect will choose to work with you and some may choose your competition (just as some people will choose another religion over Mormonism). However, if you have a positive working relationship with your competitors, you can create opportunities to refer to each other and network constructively, which raises the level of respect for everyone.

Conclusion

The Mormon Church continues to grow quickly and recruits new members very rapidly. With new churches and temples being built all the time, it’s obvious that the methods in and practices of the church lead to growth and success. So what can your business learn from the Mormon Church? By creating systems, embracing new technology, utilizing sales training, creating partnerships, and empowering your employees, you can have a business that enjoys similar growth and success.

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July 11, 2010 By 7 Comments

The Best Sushi in Indianapolis

I thought I would take a break today from the business world and write about one of my passions in life: sushi! I love sushi. I could eat it just about every day. And lucky for me, Indianapolis is full of great sushi restaurants. I frequently get asked what my favorites are, and I don’t really have one favorite that stands out above all others, but I can certainly comment on the ones I really prefer. Here is my list of favorites.

iSushi
Carmel
http://www.isushicafe.com/

iSushi has recently become my favorite sushi restaurant. They have some amazing and unique rolls, including the Beehive Roll, the Dynamite Roll, and the Lollipop Roll, which is the biggest roll I have ever seen. The owner is hilarious and is prone to joking with the customers throughout the meal. Don’t pass this place up – you will love it.

Naked Tchopstix
North Side / Broad Ripple
http://www.tchopstix.com/

This is at the top of my list. Both the Broad Ripple and North side locations are outstanding. The atmosphere is classy and the sushi is always excellent. The Broad Ripple location gets very crowded on the weekends so be warned if it’s a Friday or Saturday night. They also have a great mango fizz and a variety of ice cream flavors. My favorite roll here is the sunset roll.

Miyagi’s
North Side
http://indymiyagi.com/

This is one of Indy’s newer sushi places and has a very classy atmosphere. Miyagi’s seems to specialize in the artistic presentation of sushi. Great service, although a little pricier than some. My favorite roll here is the Special Saporro roll – it is freaking awesome.

Benihana
North Side
http://www.benihana.com/locations/indianapolis-in-in

I was surprised when I discovered that the Benihana in Indianapolis serves excellent sushi! It is recently remodeled and has a great atmosphere. The prices are pretty average and the service is good. They also have a nice assortment of smoothies for those (like me) who like that sort of thing. My favorite roll here is the Alaskan Roll.

Kona Grill
Carmel
http://www.konagrill.com/

I would vote this as Carmel’s best sushi. Not only is the atmosphere very classy and comfortable, but the sushi is outstanding. The outdoor seating is also very nice and it seats plenty. The prices are a little high but it’s worth it. I don’t have a favorite roll here but everything is good. A nice bonus of Kona Grill is the dessert – they have some incredible stuff on the dessert menu. I’m a big fan of the Ultimate Fudge Brownie.

Sakura
Central
http://www.indysakura.com/

Sakura is a solid staple on the list of Indianapolis sushi restaurants. It’s very popular and well-known and has a great atmosphere. It’s small and intimate and is a great place for conversation and fantastic sushi.

Ichiban
South Side
http://www.indy.com/streetcred/location/1949

Ichiban is an incredible value. The sushi is first-class and the price is lower than any other place I have ever been. It’s fairly small and intimate and they also have some recessed-seating booths, which is kind of cool. I loved the Ichiban Roll when I went there.

Bistro Tchopstix
Downtown
http://cityguide.aol.com/indianapolis/restaurants/bistro-tchopstix/v-118008543

If you find yourself downtown, I recommend Bistro Tchopstix. It is a small, intimate sushi place in the heart of downtown and it serves up excellent sushi at a reasonable price. I know that some people enjoy The Mikado for a downtown sushi experience but Bistro Tchopstix provides quality that is on par or better at a much lower price. I don’t have a favorite roll here, as I usually get nigiri when I’m at Bistro Tchopstix. Service is also friendly.

While I’m sure others have their own preferences on the best sushi, these are my top picks for consistently high-quality sushi and a great atmosphere. I welcome your comments below if you would like to add any experiences of your own. Itadakimasu!

Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: ,
February 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

How does building websites change the world?

At SpinWeb, we create professional websites and online marketing initiatives. We’ve been doing it since 1996 and have gotten very good at it. We’ve gotten so good at it that it amazes me how fast and how well we deploy new websites on time, on budget, and with amazing design quality.

Sometimes, however, I think we get so caught up in the mechanics of our systems and processes at the “runway” level that we can lose sight of why we are doing what we do. How does our work make a difference? How does it change the world? How does it change lives?

I think it’s important to stay focused on these questions and the answers that go with them. So what does our work really mean?

One very exciting part of our work is seeing how a beautiful new website can inspire confidence, pride, and brand strength in the organizations that we work with. Often, we work with businesses that are looking for that extra push to help take them to the next level and reach new markets and when we create a website that helps them look like an industry leader, it has direct application to business growth and especially company morale.

We also love to empower individuals within the organization to do their jobs well. When we help the marketing director launch her online campaigns in a fraction of the time it used to take, she now has more time to work on other activities or spend time with her family. This improves her quality of life.

It brings a smile to my face when we can help a non-profit modernize the online donation, fund raising, and volunteer recruiting process so that they are able to help more people in need and bring positive change to the world.

When we can provide online tools that help event planners promote and manage successful conferences, we are helping bring together professionals who learn from each other and grow in their professions.

When we provide businesses with a website that helps them reach their customers and deliver solutions in a more efficient way, we are giving them the ability to grow faster and create jobs.

There are so many ways that online marketing and technology can improve the quality of life for those who embrace it. I love being a part of it and creating the solutions and tools that change lives.

No matter what you do, make sure you understand why you are doing it and how it makes a difference, no matter how small. At SpinWeb, we create professional websites and online marketing initiatives that change lives.

Filed Under: Design, Lifestyle, Marketing, Productivity, Technology Tagged With: , , , ,
January 20, 2010 By 2 Comments

I’m tired of social media

Gasp! There, I said it. I have a suspicion that others are thinking it, too. At this particular moment I am tired of social media. I have taken a few days to focus on other things and it has been great. I didn’t post anything to Twitter for a few days, I didn’t spend much time on Facebook, and I didn’t read any blogs.

Instead, I did some writing, worked on my book, did some strategic planning for my business, and had some very productive meetings with my team and my networking circles.

I think many times I am guilty of getting caught up in the fast-paced, “new and shiny” appeal of social tools and I get a little carried away in thinking that if I don’t engage in social networks all the time, then I will be missing out on something. Well, as it turns out, there is a world outside of Facebook. Who knew?

So am I actually tired of social media? Not really. Rather I acknowledge that I need to remind myself that social media is simply an evolution in how we communicate. It’s not a replacement for traditional marketing. It’s not a replacement for phone calls or meetings. It’s not a replacement for human contact. We need to look for ways to enhance our communication with social tools. If engaging on a social network adds value to my relationships, then it makes sense. If it distracts me from my goals, then it doesn’t make sense.

You know what else? Simply admitting my burn-out on social media helped me reevaluate how I engage with my networks and actually recharged my interest in jumping back in.

Social media will continue to be a part of my lifestyle. I will continue to learn, develop relationships, educate, and generate leads using social media. However, I will also get better at finding balance in my activities.

Oh look… Twitter is back up. Gotta go!

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Marketing, Productivity, Technology Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
January 7, 2010 By 3 Comments

In a ROWE, every day is a snow day

Remember snow days? As a kid, the first big snow of the season was an eagerly-anticipated gift because it could mean that school was canceled, which would be followed by sleeping in, sledding, and other recreational hi-jinks. As we got older, snow days started to affect us in different ways. As employees, snow days could be dreadful because we were still required to drive to an office, which meant getting up earlier for the dangerous commute so we could get to work on time. Or perhaps we had a “flexible” boss who said we could stay home as long as we were working during business hours. The temporary telecommuting was mixed with pangs of guilt as we tried to make sure we looked busy by sending lots of emails and making phone calls while watching TV. Or perhaps the grumpy manager-types among us would become annoyed at the employees who were not committed enough to make the drive to work in the snow. Wow… so much drama and anxiety over some beautiful snow!

As I sit in my cozy living room by the fireplace, I am enjoying the minor snowstorm we’re having here in Indianapolis. Every time we get a good solid snow here, it seems to play havoc with the typical workday. Why? Because most companies in Indianapolis are still stuck in the 8-5, 40-hour week mindset. Because of this, we have things like “rush hour” and “commutes” which become worse during inclement weather. The Mayor of Indianapolis is even urging workers to “leave early” or “stay late” to avoid hitting rush hour in the snow.

In contrast, SpinWeb is a ROWE, which means that we are absolutely unaffected by this lovely day of snow. Why? Because we focus on results, not time or physical location. We have 10 employees but only two of us even showed up at the office today and it was just to briefly pick something up. No one “checked in” at 8am. No memo was sent out urging employees to leave early to avoid rush hour. It simply was not an issue. Emails were sent to clients, conference calls were held, websites were being built, and work got done – just like any other day. I’m sure many of our employees slept in and enjoyed some coffee by their own fireplaces as they watched the snow. Since our phone system is cloud-based, those who called our office got a live person who helped direct their calls to the appropriate person’s cell phone, just like any other day. The technology exists to allow us to break free of the need to sit at a desk with a hardwired phone. With laptops, cell phones, and the right infrastructure in place, we can operate with extreme flexibility under any conditions at at any hour of the day or night.

In a ROWE, the company focuses primary on one thing: what gets done. It doesn’t matter when it gets done, where it gets done, or much time is spent on it. What matters is that work is getting done correctly and on time. Employees take control of their own time and their own lives and everybody wins. That brings some excitement and enjoyment back into work, doesn’t it?

When you work in a ROWE, every day is a snow day. Enjoy!

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Productivity, Technology Tagged With: , , ,
December 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment

5 emerging marketing tools you need to start paying attention to

As 2009 wraps up and we look toward the new year, it’s nice to re-evaluate plans for the upcoming year and use the holiday downtime to focus on some initiatives for 2010. I know that the holidays are a great time for vacations but it can also be a great time to work on high-level strategic items, such as business plans, marketing strategies, and processes. It’s also a good time to make some personal commitments about what you will do differently to build your business.

Here are 5 marketing tools that are becoming more relevant all the time. I would encourage you to take a serious look at these tools and decide for yourself if they can help you grow your business.

1. Blogging. Though blogging is not new, it is still uncomfortable to most people. Nobody wants to take the time to blog on a consistent basis and no one knows what to write about. Well, that may be true but at the same time, nobody wants to take out the trash, either, but it must be done if we want to run a tidy business (or household). Blogging is a fantastic way to improve search engine rankings as well as build authority. It gives you a platform for producing re-usable content, visibility, and expertise. It helps build trust with your audience and also is a great personal development vehicle. If you prefer not to write, consider a ghost blogger.

2. Twitter. Out of the big three (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn), Twitter is still the social network that is the scariest and strangest to most people. I encourage you to do whatever you can to get over it. Twitter is an incredibly powerful tool for communication, lead generation, and research. I see referral opportunities almost every day on Twitter that most businesses aren’t even aware of. Pick up a copy of Kyle Lacy’s “Twitter for Dummies” book or attend a SpinWeb Twitter Seminar to learn how to get started. Just don’t be scared. You can grow your business with Twitter.

3. SlideShare. I love SlideShare and I think it is an under-appreciated gem in social media. SlideShare allows you to post your presentations online and share them with others. It also allows you to create a profile to give more information about yourself, and it also allows you to capture leads from viewers. Posting your presentations online is a fantastic way to build your platform of content and authority. Many of my speaking engagements have been facilitated by my use of SlideShare to clearly publish my presentation content.

4. GoToMeeting/GoToWebinar. Going a step further than SlideShare, GoToMeeting and GoToWebinar allow you to give live demos and presentations to people anywhere in the world on an almost unlimited scale by sharing your screen with your audience. Though I prefer in-person presentations, when it’s not possible or practical to travel these tools allow you to remove geography from the equation and present your content to a huge audience from varied locations. This allows you to build your authority, reach new prospects, and capture qualified leads. It also allows your sales team to deliver rich web-based demos to anyone in the world. If you become comfortable hosting web meetings and webinars, you will open up a whole new opportunity for marketing your business.

5. Your website. Ok, so business websites are not as new as some of the other tools listed here but I have to include it because I am constantly surprised at how often organizations neglect their own websites. Your website is your primary information portal and should be an investment that supports your marketing efforts and goals. It should be well-designed, well-planned, and should have the right tools in place for your organization and your audience. An outdated, poorly-designed, or poorly-managed website is absolutely unacceptable in 2010. Make the investment in a great website.

Make 2010 a year of positive change and new ideas. Step out of your comfort zone and build your business with some tools and methods and you may not have tried before. If you have any other tools that you would like to suggest, please feel free to leave a comment here. I would love to hear what you think.

Filed Under: Marketing, Technology Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,
November 24, 2009 By 5 Comments

Thanksgiving Reflections

This Thanksgiving, I’d like to share a few thing that I am thankful for, both in business and personal life.

1. My faith. Out of respect for others and their beliefs, this is not something that I bring up too often without invitation. However, I would like to take the opportunity to express my gratitude for my knowledge of Jesus Christ and His plan for us. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Chris of Latter-day Saints and my testimony of this faith and the happiness it brings to me is something I am incredibly thankful for. It is the foundation for my life and guides my way in all things. I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to choose to believe and that I live in a country that offers me the freedom to worship as I see fit.

2. My friends and family. I have been very blessed to have a fantastic group of friends and a family that loves me. My life is constantly enriched by all the conversations, arguments, and great times I share with friends and family.

3. My team at SpinWeb. The people I work with are incredible. They are the smartest, most dedicated, most ethical people I know and our success is a result of their efforts. Our team is among the best in the city and I am grateful every day that I can rely on them. They care about our clients and about each other and it shows.

4. My clients. Without terrific clients, SpinWeb would not exist. Our clients truly “get it” when it comes to online marketing. They listen to us, they communicate with us, and they respect us. Our clients are progressive, forward-thinking business owners, marketing professionals, and executives who have a strong desire to build a better business and go to the next level. I learn a great deal from my clients and I am deeply grateful for the trust they place in me and my team.

5. My country. I am proud to live in the United States and am extremely grateful for the freedom and way of life that I enjoy here. Though certainly not perfect, this country offers unprecedented opportunities for business and personal achievement and I feel very fortunate that I have been able to live here and start a business here.

Thanksgiving is certainly a time for great food and friends and family, but it is also nice to reflect on what we are blessed with and thankful for. Soon I also hope to be thankful for warm pumpkin pie with vanilla ice cream :) Happy Thanksgiving!

Note: this entry is posted in support of Tweetsgiving, by Epic Change. Consider attending the Indianapolis Tweetsgiving Event. You may make a donation online.

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November 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Know when to use your hammer

“When you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” I’m sure you’ve heard this phrase before and it makes a great point. In business, we all have hammers and we are all looking for nails. This blog post was inspired by a post by Seth Godin, in which he explains that different professionals will tend to recommend their own “hammers” for the same problem based on what they are familiar with. He goes on to say that it’s a good idea to know when to switch to a different hammer for different circumstances.

It’s a great point and I happen to agree but I would like to approach it from a different angle. I would argue that something more businesses need to get better at is knowing which nails to hit.

Many smart businesses are realizing the value of specializing and narrowing their targets in order to become really great at a few things rather than mediocre at many things. The problem is often that businesses have a hard time admitting it when their hammers don’t fit the nails that are in front of them.

As service providers, businesses need to have a clear picture of what they are good at and what they are not so that they can discern properly and know when to say yes and no to customers. A business that eagerly accepts every customer that comes along is inviting disaster since this can often lead to failed promises, unmet expectations, and inefficient work.

At SpinWeb, we have some great systems, processes, and tools. We know when to use them and who we can help. If we have an opportunity to work with a client and we know that the project will fit our systems well, we are eager to deliver. However, if we are asked to do something that does not fit our processes, tools, and skill set, we are very quick to politely decline the work and make every effort to refer that client to another resource that might be a better fit. If we can do a great job at something, we will. If we cannot, we will say so clearly and honestly. We know when to use our hammers and we want our clients to be happy.

In your business, do you know how to decide when to use your hammer?

Filed Under: Design, Lifestyle, Marketing, Productivity, Technology Tagged With: , , , ,
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