Version 1.0

I just talked to a friend of mine who has a great idea for a business, how things were going. He said he isn’t ready to launch it yet. It’s always something. Not enough money. Not enough time. The idea isn’t fleshed out yet. Yada yada.

He told me about this great idea about 5 or 6 years ago. In fact, he has dozens of really great ideas. Not one of them has ever been done. Not one of them has even been started. I just find it baffling because as soon as I get an idea in my mind I just haul off and do it, prepared or not. I call this Version 1.0. Software companies do this all the time. They get something out there and work out the bugs along the way.

‘Cause here’s the thing… you will never, ever be completely prepared. Even companies that have millions of dollars and do tons of marketing research can still have issues.

I’m sure some people will disagree with me, but I think you should get an idea as good as it can be and then run with it. I would caution against spending too much on it initially though. My first version of swiggies were pretty awful. They were made of a bulky plastic and had a bulky terry cloth band that didn’t stay on the wrist very well and was incredibly hard to thread through the bottle. I bought some off the shelf packaging and had to seal it together with a glue gun. [Read more…] about Version 1.0

How Long Should You Chase a Dream?

This is going to be one of those posts that has a question, but no answer. That’s because it’s an individual decision. You’re talking to somebody that spent 12 years developing a product before it even made it to market. And someone that hung in there for years as an actor. Some years were great, and I made several movies and TV shows. And some years were spent bartending and waiting tables for what seemed like an eternity. I’ve spent years in a relationship waiting for a ring. So, I’m really not one to tell anyone else when they should give up a dream. I guess the answer is… when you no longer have a passion for it.

Yesterday I was told that I would finally be getting a dream job I had been pursuing for about 2 years. But it started way before that. I started planting the seeds for it before I even knew I was looking for a job. And I didn’t know I was planting seeds at all. It started years ago when I went to get a Christmas tree. The guy at the lot was very proud of the trees and wanted to tell the story of how they got there. Most people were in a hurry to get their tree and go home. But I wasn’t in much of a hurry, for a change, and sensed his excitement over telling someone the Christmas tree story. So, I stayed and listened. [Read more…] about How Long Should You Chase a Dream?

5 Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Start Blogging

You can probably guess why I’m writing this post. We’ve all been there. We start out with a burst of blogging energy and enthusiasm, writing like crazy, you can’t shut us up, and then…BAM, writer’s block. I’d like to say I have a great excuse, like I was backpacking through the Andes and didn’t have access to a computer.

But, no. The answer is simply that I stared at the screen for a few days and literally had nothing to say. I should know better. I teach creativity and innovation and tell others not to let this happen to them. But it happens to even the most creative people.

So, I’m going to take my own advice. Here are a few tips to get back and start blogging:

Forget about it!

Have you ever just been driving down the street or taking a shower and you suddenly have a great idea for something? That’s because your brain has been working in the background and it suddenly makes a connection. Go watch TV, take a drive, climb a mountain. Anything! Just get out and do something different and stop trying to force it. Trust that your brain will recalculate. [Read more…] about 5 Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Start Blogging

PR Marketing Services

PR SERVICES with ABBOTT & KLEIN:

A typical PR agency charges between $5,000 – $10,000 a month but rarely gives you personalized service. I know, I hired the largest PR firm in L.A. and spent a fortune for 3 months and only got one mention in a magazine. My firm, Abbott & Klein is a small boutique PR and marketing agency that has represented celebrities, Fortune 500 companies, along with small business owners, inventors and TV/film companies. We don’t have the big overhead the larger companies have and will treat your company and products like they were our own. Therefore, unlike the big guys, we don’t take on everyone. If we feel we can’t do an incredible job for you or the business is out of our line of expertise, we won’t take you on. We specialize in publicity for speakers, artists, and inventors.

$1,000/month

1 press release (limited distribution)

Word Press site management

SEO (directory submission, links, etc.)

2 blog posts

2 articles w/ distribution

Social media campaign

Listing in Indie Sponsor or Speaker Sponsor

No fee crowd-funding

$2,500/month

2 press releases (full distribution)

Follow up calls

Word Press site management

SEO (directory submission, links, etc.)

Posting in forums

Weekly blog posts

2 articles w/ distribution

Social media campaign

Listing in Indie Sponsor or Speaker Sponsor

No fee crowd-funding

$4,000/month

2 press releases (full distribution)

Follow up calls

PPC campaign management

Word Press site management

SEO (directory submission, links, etc.)

Posting in forums

Twice weekly blog posts

4 articles w/ distribution

Social media campaign

Listing in Indie Sponsor or Speaker Sponsor

No fee crowd-funding

Full sponsorship management (no other PR firm offers this!)

Coaching & PR Services

Coaching and PR services

Prices

CREATE YOUR OWN JOB WEBINAR:

The Basics

$59.00

This is the “Create Your Own Job” webinar. It’s an hour and a half class on how to create your own jobs or have jobs created for you. The course is very detailed and is enough to get you started. It’s fine for those do it yourselfers that can take an idea and run with it themselves. If you need more help you can subscribe to the Create for Cash RSS feed for free, valuable advice on being a bootstrapping entrepreneur. You can also buy a copy of “The Money Garden: How to Plant the Seeds for a Lifetime of Income” on Amazon. It’s loaded with free and low cost marketing tips on how to promote your new venture. It’s also available in the Kindle version for only $9.99.

PR SERVICES with ABBOTT & KLEIN:

The Basics

$80.00 per press release

This is for business owners that already know what they want, they just need someone to write up a press release. This doesn’t include submission of the press release to the media.

Best Value

$2500 /month

A typical PR agency charges between $5,000 – $10,000 a month but rarely gives you personalized service. I know, I hired the largest PR firm in L.A. and spent a fortune for 3 months and only got one mention in an international magazine. My firm, Abbott & Klein is a small boutique PR agency that has represented celebrities, Fortune 500 companies, along with small business owners and inventors. We don’t have the big overhead the larger companies have and will treat your company and products like they were our own. Therefore, unlike the big guys, we don’t take on everyone. If we feel we can’t do an incredible job for you or the business is out of our line of expertise, we won’t take you on.

Our fee includes 1-2 press releases per month (depends on what you’re promoting), distribution to the media, brainstorming sessions with you to make sure we are in line with your branding message, all costs of postage, phone calls, etc.

Platinum Package – minimum of 3 months – space limited to 1 client per month

$5000/ month

When you consider most large PR firms charge between $5000 -$10,000 a month for PR, we really are a bargain. This package includes everything the Best Value has, and more. We also maintain your blog and social media for you and write 4 articles a month and distribute them on the appropriate Internet sites for your target market.