We have invested what could be viewed as a disproportionate amount of time to culture for such a small company. We throw parties, leave at 2 pm on Fridays, almost never work late, and talk about our culture weekly. If that doesn't sound like the most soft as Silicon Valley shite you've ever heard, then you're probably reading this from a hover chair in Silicon Valley.
Imagine a woman, a single mom. She has a son who is fast – Olympic fast. He qualifies for the Junior Olympics. They spend their weekends on a busy and affluent intersection passing a pail. They're raising money for all the travel and registration expenses that are thousands of dollars beyond their budget. This mother doesn't complain. This boy isn't embarrassed. They just work and smile (two beautiful and joyful smiles) and they work some more. Someone takes notice and shares their story. The community converges and raises the remainder. They accomplish their goal, the boy wins some races and receives some medals. It's a nice story and everyone feels pretty damn good.
I can only imagine the amount of times this question has been asked in meetings over the last five years. It's a fantastic question because the answer is open, a bit blurry and always unknown. It's an answer that can't be known until some investment has already been made. That's risky. And, business people don't like risky, especially when it comes to their investment. Here are the three levels of investment (time, energy, money) and their respective returns (likes, follows, money).
Like all things marketing there is no silver bullet (ironically, I just learned, silver bullets are not proven any better than lead).* Since, I am in marketing (which I am just recently coming to grips with) I can tell you ROI is a huge pain in my tuchus. Clients are all like, "If I spend $1,000, can I get $1,100 back?" So annoying. I'm like, "Uh, maybe? Can we just try my cool idea and see?"
The other morning I walked in and saw Gabe got some new shoes. I liked them, so I said, "I like your new shoes." He shuffled his feet and replied, "Yeah? I got them on sale." I retorted back at him, "No! You just like them." He was puzzled. I think puzzled is a fair way to feel after that retort.
This will be a short one. It comes down to one question really. Did you know that when you unsubscribe from an email the person who sent it can see that?
Did you know that?
Vision is the answer to just about all questions when it comes to starting anything. It's a big buzz word on all the podcasts I listen to and books I start. And, when you have it, it's amazing and empowering and you become like an entrepreneurial X-man or X-woman.
Last week, I was thoughtlessly scrolling through Instagram, when something suddenly and clearly occurred to me, this sucks. And, that sucks. Because Instagram was once really cool. It was a place where you could post one picture at a time. And, as the name indicates, the original idea concept embraced and a photo would be taken and instantly uploaded. It was simple and pleasant and fun to use.
No, this isn't about that one. This is about our one. I was listening to a book called, Primal Branding: Create Zealots for Your Brand, Your Company, and Your Future, which maps out the seven elements of any belief system. Since I've listened to about 25% of the book I figure I know enough to talk expertly about the subject.
If you'd asked 23 year old unmolded piece of clay me what I wanted to do I would have had no idea. But, I definitely knew I didn't want to do sales. Sales is just so sales-y. It requires a suit, and a 'pitch' and absolutely worst of all, rejection. I mean, my dad is in sales, and I am not going to do what my dad does. Duh. Aww, 23-year-old Adam.
