Open For Business

http:/www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/ofb.s3.amazonaws.com/OFB63_TheTalkingStick.mp3

On this edition of OFB Brian, Tommy and Ken take a crowd sourced funded trip to Vegas, visit another innovative online retailer, and explore how collaboration works in Silicon Valley, but doesn’t work in Washington.

HOT POTATO NEWS:

Crowd sourced funding is still wide open because the SEC has not acted yet. But they will. CrowdTilt (another Kickstarter funding site) tapped their crowd while the getting was good. They got $62,000 in crowd funding for a killer private jet, limo laden New Year’s Eve trip and party in Vegas. Cynical, smart, or just too drunk to care. You decide.

http://www.businessinsider.com/crowdtilt-new-years-eve-party-2013-1

Hall and Madden make custom clothing for men. They saw in today’s Mad Men dress up era $1,000+ suits teamed up with off-the-rack ill fitting shirts. Another innovative online retailer is born. Order a custom fitted shirt online for $50. Over 1,000 paid subscribers in just the first few months.

http://www.businessinsider.com/hall-and-madden-business-story-2013-1

Tom Friedman in his latest NY Times column talks about collaboration. He highlights how collaboration works in the one of the most competitive arenas in the world -- Silicon Valley. He contrasts that with Washington DC where the word collaboration is considered treasonous. Friedman notes that if Congress were a start-up it would fail and the investors would be left with nothing. Why -- the inability of the partners to collaborate.

We dive deep on the power of collaboration, blasting Congress for the power grab and exploring why collaboration works and how it enables 1+1=4.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/13/opinion/sunday/friedman-collaborate-vs-collaborate.html?hp

Open for Business #63 – more great information than you could hope for in less than an hour.

Smart marketing is smart marketing, regardless of the venue. On this edition of OFB Brian, Tommy and Ken, along with our guest Chris Reimer explored some applications of smart marketing, and some not so smart marketing moves as well.

Our first Hot Potato was ReferralKey.com. Describing itself as an online community of connected people sending lots of referrals to each other, we all concluded that what they really do is SPAM people and offer little in the way of new business opportunities. Our guest Chris Reimer wrote an especially insightful and funny blog entry on the topic --

@RizzoTees Chris Reimer Blog about Referral Key

Our next Hot Potato stop was WalMart who is going somewhere no retailer or channel partner has gone before -- they are discounting iPhones and iPads. We initially thought this demonstrated the power of WalMart as a discount retailer. But maybe not. There’s real value in hearing Brian’s astute insight about channel conflicts and this being a somewhat desperate strategic move by WalMart to counter Amazon and other online retailers stealing their business.

http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/14/walmart-cuts-prices-on-some-iphones-and-ipads/?emc=eta1

Our third Hot Potato was time of the year appropriate -- Resoultions -- do they work? We pretty much concluded they do not. Tune in to hear our clinical analysis of this annual and always important debate.

Our focused discussion was about smart marketing and how it really applies anywhere. The in thing in marketing is social media, inbound marketing, and the connection to the website. A recent article highlighted some well known websites and how they exhibited brilliant home page design. What they actually exhibited was smart marketing, whether it’s on a home page, in a mail piece, in an ad, or face-to-face in conversation. The principles espoused in the article are below and they don’t change; just the venue changes.

Clarity on who you are and what you do

http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/34006/15-Examples-of-Brilliant-Homepage-Design.aspx#i

xzz2H1Ls8uy9

Open for Business #62 – more great information than you could hope for in less than an hour.

-Which do you like better ALL INCLUDED pricing, or ALA CARTE pricing?

-What company lost millions in dollars and customers, then gave their CEO a 100% pay increase?

-And How to raise prices for your products or services and not lose business

Guest Host: Lon Seidman - Host of Behind the Video and Lead Writer of CTTechJunkie.com, but also a partner in the Safety Zone, his family’s glove and safety equipment business, SafetyZone.com.

*******HOT POTATO NEWS

1. Is Ala Carte ruining the Airline Industry? Add on fees initially kept the cost of the air ticket down. They have creeped up, along with increased fees. Is air travel a unique industry for pricing? http://www.telegram.com/article/20121230/NEWS/112309994/1002/business

Lon: No fees on Southwest

Lon: Consumers need to demand more, people complain but don’t change their behavior which is why companies get away with this stuff.

*************FOCUSED DISCUSSION LINKS

At some point, we all have to raise prices for our products or services. This is a lose-lose situation: I hate having to re-explain or re-sell why I’m valuable at a certain price, and certainly my customers our advertisers here don’t JUMP at the opportunity to spend more.

Here are some tips:

Entrepreneur Magazine

OpenForum.com

SBA.gov

Small Business Success Blog | blog.score.org

Tell us what you think. Email Tommy or Ken at [email protected].

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/open-for-business/id533309378?mt=2&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

In 2012 we saw wonderful marketing from clever producers and agencies. Here's a rundown of the top campaigns in 2012. What can we steal from their great ideas?

Happy New Year!

Tommy and Ken

When it comes to content everyone wants a virus, or better said, wants their content to go viral. We’ll explore how to do that. Plus, warm your heart this holiday season with a feel good story out of rural Minnesota. Give holiday cheers at the signs of the resurgence of American Manufacturing. Give holiday jeers to the hyped language overused on LinkedIn.

Joe Leuken is a retiring grocer in Bemidji, MN. After 46 years Joe is giving up his multi-location grocery business and plans to travel the world with his wife. What makes this story great is the disposition of the stores. Joe gave them to his 400 person employee family. Listen in to the whole story; it will make you feel good.

Apple is evolving into a good American Corporate Citizen. They are opening an iMac production plant in the U.S. sometime in 2013. New jobs and further evidence of the resurgence of American Manufacturing.

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/macs-made-usa-could-jump-start-american-manufacturing-1C7475426

The english language can be elegant one minute and crass the next. On LinkedIn the crass side seems to be winning sometimes. Here are the Top Ten Most Overused Words on LinkedIn.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/225165

Discussion Item -- Content Going Viral

Be a thought leader. Content is King. Content drives traffic. All great marketing sentiments. What completes the cycle is developing content that actually attracts visitors, again and again. For the hundreds of thousands of content providers, so few are reaping rewards. We’re going to explore some tips to reverse that situation and to help you get your online content to go viral.

http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/33906/6-tips-for-creating-content-that-spreads-naturally?source=Blog_Email_[6%20Tips%20for%20Creating%20]

http://www.wikihow.com/Improve-Your-Chances-of-Going-Viral

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/217695#

http://socialmediatoday.com/zekecamusio/559577/how-create-viral-content

Tell us what you think. Email Tommy or Ken at [email protected].

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/open-for-business/id533309378?mt=2&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

An interesting mix of items this week -- A 30 year fan offers surprising suggestion to HP; Burn your business plan before it burns you; Thumbs up / thumbs down on the best business books of 2012. Plus, some insights and homage to Zig Ziglar, a man who inspired generations of successful salespeople.

We begin with some Hot Potato News items ….

We talked last time about another multi-billion dollar write off HP endured with the purchase of Autonomy. Bill George, the former CEO of Medtronic and a 30 year fan of HP offers a stark and surprising suggestion on what HP’s next strategy should be (hint -- breaking up is hard to do).

Write a business plan. It’s the roadmap for where you are going and how to get there. Alexander Osterwalder in his Wall Street Journal Accelerator Blog has a different suggestion -- Burn your business plan. “No business plan survives first contact with customers.” There is an alternate path worth exploring.

We consider Fast Company’s list of the Top 12 Business Books of 2012, and offer some frank Thumbs Up / Thumbs Down assessments.

Discussion Item -- Remembering Zig Ziglar

Zig Ziglar died last week at age 86. He was a world renowned motivational speaker and sales trainer. Brian, Tom and Ken remember Ziglar through his own words, more accurately quotes for which he is well known. Our three favorites:

Tommy -- “You were designed for accomplishment, engineered for success and endowed with the seeds of greatness”.

Here’s some more --

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2012/11/28/zig-ziglar-10-quotes-that-can-change-your-life/

Tell us what you think. Email Tommy or Ken at [email protected].

Open for Business – Seven days of Fun in Less than an Hour.

Click Here to Subscribe in iTunes: Open for Business

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/open-for-business/id533309378?mt=2&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Hot Potato News --

iPad owned 88% of Black Friday deals LINK

Arrests made at Walmart on Friday for snooty strikers LINK

IPOs in a deep freeze for now LINK

HOSTS:

Brian Parker: Chief HORN at OnTheHORN.com

Jeffery Powers: Jeffrey Powers - Owner and podcaster at Geekazine.com - Started 5 years ago this month. 3 podcasts - Geek Smack!, iPad app show iPad365 and Day in Tech History - Daily rundown of technology history 365 days a year. Also just started a new website - How to Record Podcasts - where he help people with their shows.

Salvatore Presutti: Sal Presutti immigrant entrepreneur, real estate developer, history and economics teacher and all around problem solver. [email protected]

Big Story --

Apple’s next Big Thing! Rumors and wants from the blogosphere!

Apple and AI

Apple TV Redux

iPhone 5s – Do we care about that – Samsung hugeness vs the iPhone Thumb gauge – does anyone use there phone with just one hand – impact on driving and texting? 23x More likely to get into accident.

Passbook vs Wallet ** Is Passbook dying too soon? Is payment the next big Change the world idea from Apple – Influence from itunes?

[audio http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/ofb.s3.amazonaws.com/OFB56_SayThankyouToCustomers.mp3]

OFB 56 | Saying thank you should not be reserved just for Thanksgiving, HP has no thanks for Autonomy, WalMart survived “no thanks” from workers, SAC Capital are just thankless bastards. On this edition of OFB Tom, Ken and Brian get in the spirit of the season and discuss saying thanks.

First, some Hot Potato News items ….

HP took another black eye in their strategy with a writeoff of $8B of the $11B acquisition of Autonomy, alleging accounting irregularities and fraud. Can you find a more dysfunctional Board and Management team in what was a great technology success?

OUR WalMart (Organization United for Respect at WalMart) staged demonstrations at WalMarts throughout the country. The impact -- not that much. Maybe WalMart needs to learn more about saying thank you.

SAC Capital is in hot water again with the SEC, this time for a $276M insider trading windfall. Mathew Martoma is the trader who was arrested. Steven Cohen is the owner of the fund and is under SEC investigation for the umpteenth time. Maybe this time it will stick?

Discussion Item -- Saying Thank You

The Thanksgiving season is a time when we all pause, take a breath, and reflect. We give thanks for all of the good things in our lives.

Focusing solely on business (we are OFB after all), we should all take time to say thanks.

And most importantly, don’t have the business say thank you. Get personal. You say thank you.

Tell us what you think. How do you make 30 seconds work for you? Email Tommy or Ken at [email protected].

Open for Business – Seven days of Fun in Less than an Hour.

Click Here to Subscribe in iTunes: Open for Business

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/open-for-business/id533309378?mt=2&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

An American icon rises, Branson is audacious, and landmines and cliffs. On this edition of OFB Tom, Ken and Brian revisit a favorite from our childhood with the Radio Flyer wagon. Sir Richard Branson discusses the need for audacity. Ken rants on the dismal NFC East. And we look at the post election forecasts, fiscal cliffs and all.

First, some Hot Potato News items ….

The iconic Radio Flyer Wagon -- A Different Kind of “American Radio” success story

Sir Richard Branson talks about how entrepreneurs need to be audacious

Ken rants on the NFC East where the Super Bowl Champ Giants, America’s team Dallas, Philadelphia the next great dynasty, and wunderkind RGIII and the Redskins are all underperforming.

Discussion Item -- Post election forecasts and predictions

The election is over and the government is relatively the same as it was four years ago. We have a Democrat as President, a Democratic controlled Senate, and a Republican controlled House. They couldn’t get along or get anything done for the last four years. Will it be different going forward?

We dive into the various factors that help answer that question, both in the short term and the longer term.

The impending fiscal cliff from sequestration

And most importantly, an electorate that won’t put up with more of the same

Tell us what you think. How do you make 30 seconds work for you? Email Tommy or Ken at [email protected].

Open for Business – Seven days of Fun in Less than an Hour.

Click Here to Subscribe in iTunes: Open for Business

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/open-for-business/id533309378?mt=2&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Connecting – when you first meet do you elevator pitch, sell, connect, ask, tell …? How good are your first-impression-making skills? We explore The Art of Making a Connection on this edition of Open For Business.

But first, some Hot Potato News items ….

Oh Sandy!! The storm was devastating, disrupting lives and destroying billions in property. The aftermath in terms of long term economic impact could be worse. Read more … http://www.marketplace.org/topics/generic/weather-economy/hurricane-sandy-could-cost-billions-damages

Stories from the Storm -- Read how one CEO, in order to ensure service to their clients, carried diesel fuel up 17 flights of stairs so their generator kept running.

Happy Feet at Penguin House -- In response to a rapidly changing publishing industry Penguin Publishing and Random House have merged. They now control 25% of all English speaking published books on the planet.

Discussion Item -- The Art of the Connection

Sales training 101 instructs that you should develop and practice your elevator pitch because you never know when you will meet your ideal prospect. You need to be ready.

But do you need to be so rehearsed? Do you need an elevator pitch?

In the latest edition of OFB we explore the Art of the Connection. And our conclusions may surprise you.

Authenticity is more important than rehearsal.

Tell us what you think. How do you make 30 seconds work for you? Email Tommy or Ken at [email protected].

Open for Business – Seven days of Fun in Less than an Hour.

Click Here to Subscribe in iTunes: Open for Business

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/open-for-business/id533309378?mt=2&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

VIDEO