How to Start a Two-Bit Operation: Small Business Tips

Has it really been 6 months since the last blog post?

It starts small with denial

At first it was just a few days and a few weeks.  We were busy working on a new website and with a consulting gig.  Productive and paying work trumps all (not that we don’t appreciate the few bucks a month we make on the text link ads ).  

And then it starts snowballing with rationalization

A month or so went by and then it was the holidays - Thanksgiving, a trip to Hawaii, a ski trip, Christmas.  No one browses the web or reads our blog on vacation anyways, right?  With all those holidays, we have work to catch up on!  

And more rationalization… 

Plus, aren’t there all these articles talking about how there’s too much information on the Internet?  Maybe it’s better if we just took a break - it’s like conserving energy.  There were some business opportunities that required our attention anyways. 

Until you almost forget about it

“We have a blog?” After a number of months, old routines are broken and new ones are created - new ones that have no idea that a blog ever existed.  And so months went on where we followed the new routine working on some new things, but there was always something lurking in the back of my head.  

“Am I forgetting something? I feel like something’s missing.”

“Oh yeah, we have a blog!”

Recognition is only the 1st step to recovery

Even after that realization, a couple more months went by.  There were things I wanted to blog, but for some reason I just couldn’t muster the time or energy to do it.  There’s always something else to do - something to work one, something to read, something to watch, or someone to see.  The more time went by, the harder it got - it was the feeling of embarrassment that we’d let it go so long…you know that feeling when you can’t look someone straight in the eye.

There’s never a good time for anything - so just start

My to do list isn’t lacking - there are definitely things I should probably be working on, but there’s always stuff to work on.  If there’s one thing we learned from entrepreneurship, it’s that there’s never a good time for anything.  There’s always a reason to delay, but you have to just do it or it’ll never get done.  So here I am, blogging away trying to get over the hump.  Hopefully, things can get back to normal after this inaugural post of 2008…in May.

Reaffirming why

As I’m blogging, I’m also remembering why we started blogging in the first place. If you take a look at our about page, here’s what we initially wrote:

• To document what we’ve learned for the benefit of others who may be interested in starting a small business and so that we have records of our experience.
• To internalize what we are learning more effectively. They say that the best way to learn something is to learn it well enough to teach others.
• To update all our fans on our progress.

I think I’ll add one more now:

• To connect with other entrepreneurs.  Blogging is a great way to meet other like-minded people and I feel like not blogging has left me feeling disconnected from the community.

It’s been easy to just work on our stuff and keep our heads down, but in a virtual work environment sometimes you just need an outlet to the rest of the world.  I feel better already (even though I do feel like I’m talking to myself).

Moving on

Now let’s get back to the regularly scheduled programming.  I’ve always had a problem with procrastination since I was young, so maybe all these little lessons will finally teach me a lesson.  I hope the procrastination bug doesn’t bite you too.  If it does, just don’t say I didn’t warn you…

Justin

Yesterday one of the funded startups that used to be in the local review space, Judy’s Book, decided that it was time to close shop. Judy’s Book started as a local review site where consumers could rate and review things like restaurants, dry cleaners, plumbers, etc., but back in January, they decided to change their focus from local reviews to shopping and local deals since the monetization strategy is a bit clearer when you’re in the path of consumer purchasing. One of the tough things about local reviews is that while a company is contributing to the consumer’s decision making process, there’s rarely a way to get a lead-generation or referral fee from the business that benefits. Whereas with deals and online purchasing there’s easy ways to electronically collect your cut. At the surface, this seemed like a good shift for Judy’s Book but I guess they weren’t able to execute their plan quickly enough.

Back in March, another funded local review site, InsiderPages, was purchased by CitySearch following a massive round of layoffs.

In both cases, it appears that the investors and board saw a less than positive outlook for the company and wanted to recoup their investments.  John and I are certainly glad that we don’t currently have any outside investors that would tell us to pull the plug on Menuism.  If we’re able to maintain our independence and lean operations there’s no reason Menuism can’t stay up forever!

- Justin

This post is overdue, but since I’ll be visiting Chicago for a few weeks it seems fitting to finally do it. So without further delay, here we go!

1. Walking
   I miss using my legs. Sure I get to use them when I go to the gym or play basketball, but to get from point A to point B there’s nothing as relaxing as walking - especially when you compare it to Southern California traffic!
2. Seasons
   Sure the winters are cold, but they can also be beautiful (especially since I worked from home ). It’s true what they say about appreciating the good seasons once you’ve been through some bad weather. As a native Californian, the only seasons I knew were from television and when we went up to the mountains to go skiing.
3. Independent Restaurants
   In the land of suburbia, it seems like there’s only a handful of restaurants: Buca di beppo, Chilis, Red Robin, etc etc. It’s tiring and unoriginal. In Chicago it’s practically effortless to try someplace new with some character. I had my best memories in Chicago when I was eating.
4. Public Transportation & Cabs
   California public transportation sucks. In the SF bay area, the BART ends around midnight. How is that useful? I love being able to hop on the el or grab a cab from almost anywhere in the city. Great for those nights when you want to have that extra beer or bottle of wine.
5. Diversity
   In California, theres a lot of a few ethnic groups whereas in Chicago it feels like theres a few of a lot of ethnic groups (if that makes any sense). And while they’re pretty segregated by the neighborhoods, it at least makes them easy to find. It’s easy to go from a greek festival to swedish diner and grab some pearl milk to in Chinatown in a matter of minutes whereas I can probably go for days and only see two different colors in California.
6. Architecture
   The city of Chicago is beautiful. The attention to detail and city planning effort really shows and it really makes it a joy to live in and look at from a distance. It’s especially nice when it’s a holiday or special event and all the downtown buildings light up different colors and messages.
7. Happy Hours
   Chicago sure love to drink and often. That’s all.
8. Summer Festivals
   Did I mention they like to drink? If you like to eat unhealthy food while stumbling around outside with a beer, then summer in Chicago is for you since you can do this every single weekend. There are some classier events like the orchestra, jazz and movies in the park too.
9. City Works (landscaping, cleanliness)
   Walking through Grant Park or down the Magnificent Mile is always amazing. How much do they spend on flowers every year?
10. People Interaction
    When you drive around everywhere like in CA you almost forget how to interact with strangers. You get sucked into your own world and don’t think you need to talk to anyone you don’t know. People say Californians are snobby and I believe it. I feel like you can just walk down the street in Chicago and talk to almost anyone. That gives me a warm feeling inside.

Enough rambling. I’m heading to Chicago on Sunday for a few weeks. Email me or leave a comment if you want to meet up!

- Justin

I’m going to give you some great advice about how to get more customers and make your customers happy.

1. Tell them what you’re going to give them. Don’t be bashful. You’ve got something good to offer them so just tell them outright what wonderful things they’ll be getting. I recently had to call Bank of America a few times regarding my credit card and the first thing the service agent said was “How can I provide you with world class service today?” How nice does that sound? It sounds like I’m going to get me some world class service - exciting!
2. Give it. This only really works if you are going to deliver on the promise. However, with the customer all buttered up, you really only to have to deliver within the ballpark. What does “world class service” even mean? The service was very good, pleasant, and punctual on my BofA phone call and since they said it’s world class, I guess it was!
3. Remind them. If you’ve already made them this feel good, make them feel even better afterwards. Reinforcement of their positive gains will help them remember the experience for next time or even share the experience with others. Car commercials typically serve dual roles of making people want to buy the car and making existing owners feel good about owning the car…when then leads them to tell others to buy the car.

It’s far too easy to hope that customers recognize the value you’re providing them. We make that mistake all the time. If you’re constantly saying to yourself “Why aren’t customers biting? Don’t they know what they’re missing?” , then the chances are they actually don’t know what they’re missing since you didn’t tell them.

Give my advice a try and you’ll have more customers, happier customers, and hopefully more money.

- Justin

I read this article in the LA Times about Lights Out SF, an event started by Nick Tyler to build energy convservation awareness. From the website:

Lights Out San Francisco is a citywide energy conservation event on Oct. 20, 2007. On this night, we invite the entire city of San Francisco to install one compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) and turn off all non-essential lighting for one hour.

It’s a San Francisco initiative, but there’s no reason why everyone can’t participate. Put it in your calendars, take a break from work, and go for an evening stroll. Nick Tyler sums it up best with this quote:

“If we don’t do something, by 2050, all the polar bears will be gone. That’s where Santa Claus lives, man. That’s a bummer.”

- Justin