Sketchy Ideas

By Sketchy Ideas ShowBusiness

Sketchy Ideas episodes

January 21, 2021Sketchy Ideas Episode 6: Building an Avatar
6:03 Beginning of Brad’s Spiel
Like words being interchanged
Customer Avatars

Customer Archetypes

Customer Personas

Target Market

“Features don’t help you get your point across, or cater your messaging or what you are trying to sell to an individual or a group of people.” -B
6:45 Pandora analogy
There was these native tribespeople and we as earth people were trying to swoop in and leverage resources. What they did was create this persona that would be able to communicate directly to the native people. -B

We are trying to classify and characterize who those people are. The native people of pandora are who we are trying to describe through this exercise. -B

“So in order to communicate with the natives, we need to understand who the natives are.” -M

Making avatars can help: sales team, marketing team, HR team, and even operations people.
8:31 First Thing
Demographics
Name

Age

Gender

Marital Status

Occupation

Location

Kids?

Etc. (Income, Education)

“This is who they are and what we can find out through some research.” -M

Take stock of this information for all your first customers.

“This whole process is a missed opportunity if you’re not doing it.” -B
13:00 Michael’s Break Down
To communicate with the natives, you need to understand them. To understand them, you must analyze the data. If you don’t have the data you need to gather it.
13:24 Step 2 + 3
Goals, Values, and Belief Systems

Sources:
TV Shows, books, news, websites

“For those of you who are watching this wonderful show, we are considered a source of information for you.” -B

“You become the average of the five people you spend the most time with because the information that is consistently pushed into your brain becomes innate because the Myelin Sheath and therefore you begin to generate values and based on those values you develop goals and those goals help you with demographics.” -B

Myelin Sheath - wrapped around your neurons is this material called myelin. The more you take your brain through a thought process or through that exercise the myelin sheath gets thicker and thicker and thicker. This is why repetition is important when you’re trying to practice something is so important because it reinforces the myelin sheath. Practice makes perfect.

17:47 Michael’s Break Down

“Repetition creates reinforcement, reinforcement creates strength, the stronger the thing is the more fixed it becomes, and then it’s less likely to change and therefore is a valuable data point that I can target with my messaging.” -M

18:30 Step 4

Challenges and Pain Points

“We are trying to understand, based on our products or service, what pain points a customer may have.” -B

Pain Points- can be as small as a mosquito bite because the itch doesn't go away. There are multiple solutions (before and after, long sleeve and anti-itch cream)

“You might notice that I always wear a sweatshirt or a coat or have one with me. Even when it’s 100 degrees outside.The reason is, even if you don’t use it at a point in time, the individual you are with aka your significant other, who typically refuses to carry one {can wear it}, and now you look like the hero.”
21:52 Step 5
Full show notes here
29 min
January 12, 2021Sketchy Ideas Episode 5: Customer Avatars
6:05 Customer Avatars
“Avatars are key to helping us grow our businesses” -M

Like words being interchanged
Customer Avatars

Customer Archetypes

Customer Personas

Target Market

8:06 Targeting your market
People are ingesting thousands of ads every day

Your target market has a specific need

Your target market determines how you advertise, how you sell, how you create offers and products, and how you build your brand
9:10 Dive into Avatars
“You need to find the one thing you can build an offer around” -B

The challenge
Offers are very dependent on who is going to buy them

What pain point will your offer solve for the consumer?

“The primary differentiator between startups and big companies in building avatars is their access to customer data.” -M
13:40 Why we buy
“We don’t just buy things, to buy things” -B

3 core markets (Health, Wealth, Relationships)
Improves your health

Improves your wealth

Improves your relationships

(graphic ven diagram(ish))

15:15 Market examples
What are you buying when it comes to Cheerios?
A low cholesterol cereal - heart on the box (health)

A parent eating breakfast with their child ad (relationship)

“You can tie everything back to the three core markets; Health, Wealth, and Relationships.” -B
17:25 Tie back to the “3”
Business owners are looking to create wealth
Increasing their health inherently increases their wealth because they’re able to have a clear mind.

A clear mind relieves stress and can help improve relationships with employees, clients, and customers

A better relationship increases workflow and productivity which can increase profits

20:00 Break it down
“You can’t just go and be the real estate guy, you have to break it down.” -B

“But, you can be the $5 million + on the California coast real estate guy.” -M
21:36 Funny quote
“We lost Brad’s wide shot. I think he’s calling me fat” -B
22:14 Good quote
“Technical difficulties, more like technical opportunities.” -M
26:20 Salespeople Mindset
The typical salesperson
Everyone needs it. Everyone wants it. My target market is everyone.

… good luck

The goal of going through the customer avatar exercise is to picture a person

“Customer archetypes aren’t just a person’s demographics.” -B
Person
Demographics

Goals and aspirations

Behaviors/sources

Challenges

Objections

28:45 Avatars
“We’re making the avatar our hero” -B

Avatars (graphic of down arrows)
Combination of individuals and their needs

Marketing offers /= stuff

To find the route to their desires

32:00 Ads
In terms of ad spending…
“The goal is to spend as little as possible and get the biggest bang for your buck.” -B

“Good ROI sounds like a great investment to me” -M

32:30 What avatars teach us
Full show notes here
38 min
January 12, 2021Sketchy Ideas Episode 3: SMART Goals vs Agile Doing Debate
2:40 Intro
Opening remarks
3:00 Q1
Can you alter your SMART goal before your deadline?
No, your goal was set before your effort began

“Your best thinking happens before you start your goal” -M

You don’t adjust the goal, you adjust the plans

“What you learn along the way will help you set more realistic goals next time.” -M

Evaluate your attempts, where did you fail and where did you succeed
6:40 Brad Gif
“When the world throws a curveball, your plans may need to change.” -B

Plan and adjust

“You may not know what you’re good at along the way” -B

“Just do, and move forward” -B
9:25 Debate Q1 together
Rules, Conditions, Constraints, and Barriers → Can Change

Success Measurement → Doesn’t Change

“If I’m gonna take the time to set a goal, I should set a goal around things that really matter.” -M

“If you’re not making money, you don’t have a business.” -M

Business:
Your number 1 typical priority needs to be about financial stability

Personal:
If my monthly expenses are exceeding my monthly income, my conditions may change drastically next month.

If you’re missing a part of a SMART goal, should you try to just figure it out?
No, you’ll end up wasting time and effort. Build out your goal and simplify the process.

12:48 Q2
How Agile doing works with a team

“When working with a team, your communication needs to be at an ultimate high.” -B

Group communication keeps the common goal in sight

“With a clear vision, backed by good intent, you’re good to go” -B

VISTAS
Vison

Intent

Strategy

Tactic

Accountability

Support

15:10 Michael debates Q2
A good team goes through
Forming

Storming

Norming

Performing

Before being able to approach a goal with agility.
Shared mission

Common vision

Aligned values

Clear expectations

22:15 Q3 SMART goals or Agile for traveling
Both.

Fixed and flexible variables
Transportation, housing, funds

25:06 Brad Map Meme
“Understanding constraints lets you operate within them.” -M

Agile Doing = Smaller, but more frequent amounts of work throughout the process

SMART Goal = The work gets done before the process starts
34:30 - Overview/End remarks
Topics/concepts others have disagreed on, send them our way

[email protected]
Full Notes Here
37 min
January 12, 2021Sketchy Ideas Episode 2: Agile Learning
3:04 - The Hedgehog Theory
Hedgehog Theory
What we should do is at the root of: passion, the money it takes, and the ability to do the thing.

“What does planning equal most of the time in the long run? Analysis by paralysis.” (Brad)

SMART means procrastination because I think about EVERYTHING!”

Brad explains his thoughts for how to solve the problem. Can he go over the wall, under it, is there a ladder? Does he have help?

7:12 - VISTAS
VISTAS
Vision
Can be vague, just something driven by INTENT

Intent
Functions as a motivator which is driven by relationships or support

Strategy
Instead of doing a SMART goal, just start doing because you don’t know the exact steps you need to do the thing.

Tactics

Accountability

Support

“Thomas Edison didn’t have a plan to make a lightbulb, he just started making one.” (Brad)
8:37 - FTAGS
FTAGS
Fast

Tangible

Active

Goals

“You see something, you do it.” (Brad)

“Pick a direction and go.” (Brad)

Not every problem requires lots of thought and planning, you just have to start doing something.

Trying = Exploring and through giving things a shot you discover what you like, what you are good at, and if you’re going in the direction that you want to go.

Brad gives the example of himself and Michael starting Sketchy Ideas - they just did it.
12:25 - Michael questions Brad’s argument about the lack of a SMART goal for Sketchy Ideas
12:55 - Brad’s audio drops out, comes back in at 13:50
13:50 - Micahel asks Brad how the hedgehog is going to get over the wall
Brad doesn’t know what’s on the other side of the 10ft wall, he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know.

Through trying different methods to get past the wall, he discovers what he is good at and what he likes.

Even when he discovers these things, he still might not want to make a SMART goal because of the time and procrastination involved.

Exploration will help you find what you are good at, passionate about, and what you have the economic capacity to do. Economics can be time, money, or other resources.
16:12 - Michael points out biases in both Brad’s Hedgehog and VISTAS plans. He asks Brad to explain how those methods can lead to a specific achievement.
Brad explains his realization of an outcome
Uses a student/teacher analogy

“I don't know what I’m good at, so I just do.” (Brad)

Michael prepares his counter - knowing that they will have their real debate the next time.

Brad says that the hedgehog model is not pre-planned, you just have to figure it out along the way.

“If I just get in my car and start to drive without a destination in mind, will I ever get there?” (Michael)

Michael argues that every decision is driven by a need. If you are going to a restaurant - you go because you are hungry. This is the “I” in VISTAS, the “Intent”

Planning feels like doing something, instead of actually acting to do it.

Analysis is a way to achieve risk-avoidance.

Michael starts making a comparison/argument about whether or not the same people who analyze the study are the ones that made goals, or if it is the other percentage of people.
Full show notes here
27 min
January 12, 2021Sketchy Ideas Episode 1: SMART Goals
Welcome to the first episode of Sketchy Ideas!
In today's episode, Brad and Michael explain what SMART Goals are and how to use them!
Main Topics:
SMART Goals Intro

Example of building a SMART goal

When to use SMART goals

Goal example (Driving to work)

When SMART goals don’t work

Can I make a business 3rd quarter goal right now?

How do I get started with making a SMART goal?

Last thing to know about SMART goals
Full Show Notes here
28 min

About Sketchy Ideas

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Sketchy Ideas is a video podcast where Michael and Brad illustrate and debate concepts surrounding leadership, business, and personal achievement in a way that'll make you think twice before you…

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