Create For Cash

Product Entrepreneurs

I just got back last week from speaking at the ASD international retail conference in Vegas. The speech was on using innovation for competitive advantage. I was happy to see such a good turn out, not just for my speech, but for the whole conference.

ASD is a consumer goods trade show, which is actually 6 shows in 1. Gift, fashion, jewelry, health, beauty, and toys/novelty. It was a huge gathering of manufacturers from around the world and was hard to take in the whole show in one day.

What surprised me as I walked the show was the number of products that have been on the market for years that I’ve never heard of. Like the all natural, non toxic insect repelling Bug Button and Super Band. Or the Chillit Bags beverage coolers.

Then there were the new products like Kisstixx. Dallas Robinson and Mike Buonomo were big winners on Shark Tank when one of the sharks, Mark Cuban, took a liking to their products and made them partners. Kisstixx is a great example of putting a new twist on an old idea, chap stick. The idea is that a chemical reaction is created from two different flavors when 2 people kiss. Their new product is just as cool…breath spray that does the same thing. Even without the kissing partner, their chap stick is the best I’ve ever tried. I met them at their booth at the show and they are genuinely nice, down to earth guys. I wish them the best. [Read more…] about Product Entrepreneurs

How to Market Like a Jack Russell

For anyone that’s ever had a Jack Russell and given them a task to do, you know that they absolutely won’t quit until they figure it out. I had a Jack Russell named Chloe, that I nicknamed Houdini. She could figure out how to get into or out of anything. I still don’t know how she managed to get out of her locked crate.

I once put a treat just out of reach of her on top of a pile of boxes, and watched to see if she could get it. She tried jumping at it, but that didn’t work. She tried climbing on a table and leaping in the air to get it, but that didn’t work. For at least a couple of hours, she tried every clever way she could think of to get that treat. There was no such thing as ‘can’t’ to Chloe. She was going to get that treat. She eventually used a nearby broom and pushed the top box off.

If you want to market your product, service, or business, you have to think like Chloe. You have to market like a Jack Russell. Most things you do probably won’t work on the first try. You might get lucky once, but marketing is an ongoing process. You can’t just set it and forget it. [Read more…] about How to Market Like a Jack Russell

Online and Offline Business Synergy

According to Wikipedia, synergy is defined as “two or more things functioning together to produce a result not independently obtainable alone”. It comes from the Greek word synergia, which means “working together”.

There are only so many hours in a day, and only so far you can take your business before you start to burn out. That’s when you might want to think about partnering up for some added business synergy. If you’re a new company, with new products, you need to pay your dues a little and earn some ‘street cred’ before you start approaching others for a joint venture. Everyone will want to know that you’re trustworthy, and that your products do what they say they will first.

They’ll want to make sure you’re not a scammer, flake, or con artist. They’ll want to make sure you have more Facebook friends than just your mom and your best friend, and that you have a good understanding of how business works. In other words, their reputation is at stake. After all, they’ll be introducing you to their inner circle of a few hundred or a few hundred thousand buddies, and they don’t want to be embarrassed. So, make sure you’re ready.

I’ve spent the past year and a half putting together several great products. Everything I do is geared towards the entrepreneur in some way, even if it’s how to get a job the entrepreneurial way. [Read more…] about Online and Offline Business Synergy

The Art of Starting Over

How many times have you started over? It could be a business that went south or a health issue that resurfaced, or a relationship/marriage that ended. Everyone’s been through something. You go through a loss. You feel like a failure. Basically, it sucks!

I’ve never seen so much starting over as I have the past few years. I’ve never started over so much myself as I have the past few years. As an entrepreneur you are always starting over. It’s just part of the process. But it’s never been so deep and so difficult for so long before. Dusting yourself off and getting back into the game is what an entrepreneur does. In fact, I would say this is the most important quality you need if you’re going to be an an entrepreneur. Tenacity. [Read more…] about The Art of Starting Over

Are Entrepreneurs Happier Than Employees?

It’s 9:30 at night and here I am still working. I was invited to go to a party, but had to turn it down because I still have orders to box up and writing that needs to be finished. That’s been happening a lot lately. Glad that there is work, but when you run a business there is always work to be done. It never ends. It made me wonder “Are entrepreneurs happier than employees?”

The other day I was invited to lunch. I can’t even remember the last time I was able to take a real lunch in the middle of the day that wasn’t eaten at my desk. I’m kind of hoping for a little stability right now, so I can take even an hour off and do something, like watch a movie. It’s times like this that I envy my friends that have real jobs. Okay, I don’t envy them too much because they’re sitting in cubicles all day being told what to do. Just a little stability would be nice.

A recent Gallup poll reveals how Americans feel about their jobs and how happy they are with them. 71% of Americans are not engaged in their work. In other words, they are emotionally disconnected from their jobs. This means they’re also more likely to be more unproductive when they are at work. [Read more…] about Are Entrepreneurs Happier Than Employees?