Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

Thinking, writing, business ideas … You’re only a stranger once.

March 16, 2010

Have the BIG Idea for the Next Twitter? What’s that Worth?

ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 8:59 am

A Guest Post by Carol Roth

cooltext443809602_strategy

What if you had the BIG IDEA that trumps Twitter — the one that could get everyone to leave the Fail Whale for your newly imagined super-site? Or maybe your idea is for the next VitaminWater or Under Armour - what would that be worth?

You may know someone who came up with a great idea, or maybe you came up with one yourself - an idea that someone else pursued and made major money from. If you could just find a way to get paid for thinking of the next big business idea, you would be set for life. .

The problem is, you can’t.

The biggest bummer about business is that the ideas behind them aren’t worth anything. As Chris Brogan says, “I could totally do that doesn’t mean anything if you don’t.”

A penny for your thoughts … if you’re lucky

Nobody whose head is screwed on straight will buy a business idea from you (or anyone else) because any value related to a business idea is in its implementation. Maybe if you give someone a business idea they will one day send you a coupon for a free product, but that is about it.

The further something gets away from an idea, the more value that exists. Things like

create value.

The reality of the lack of value in business ideas is a shock and a disappointment to many people who want to get compensated for thinking of “the next big thing.”

Sure, the idea kicks off setting the business in motion, but coming up with an idea is a one-time thing that isn’t particularly difficult, doesn’t require much risk and doesn’t take a lot of work. Even if you laid in your bed fine-tuning the idea every night before you went to sleep for six months, this work pales in comparison to the amount of work required to get the business started and to make it successful. The more action you take and the greater the results that you achieve from that action, the more value you will create.

That BIG Idea for the next Twitter, Vitamin Water or Under Armour really isn’t worth anything at all.

All of the other facets of starting and running the business, of which there are many, are quite difficult to do. They require a lot of risk to do and to do well. They aren’t done once, but have to be attended to on pretty much a daily basis. They take a lot of hard work. So, in looking at this whole thing we call a business, would you place a lot of value on a one-time idea that took no risk to produce, or on the other myriad tasks that have to be done indefinitely, day-in and day-out, that take a ton of risk and hard work?

Bottom line: It’s not the idea; it’s the execution over time that counts.

Are you ready to put the work into that BIG Idea of yours?

—–
Carol Roth writes Unsolicited Business Advice (TM) or aspiring entrepreneurs, solopreneurs and other small business owners, at CarolRoth.com You can find her on Twitter as @CaroJSRoth

Thanks, Carol. Ideas are everywhere. Execution is not.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Buy the ebook. Learn the art of online conversation.

Register Now!! for sobcon-vmc


Filed under Business Life, Marketing, Successful Blog | 3 Comments »


March 15, 2010

How Experts Can Really Help Beginners

ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 8:35 am

A Guest Post by Amanda Markham

cooltext443794242_influence

My Story:

I wanted to take my blog, Desert Book Chick, from its place on Wordpress.com to a self hosted Wordpress.org site. I signed up with a webhost, got my shiny new domain name, got in the driver’s seat, and off I went. It took two painful weeks before I finally had my site looking vaguely like I wanted it to look. Along the way I learned a lot. Being an anthropologist, I’m always looking for hidden cultural ‘memes’ and understandings. In the course of reflecting on my experiences, I found I wasn’t alone - and this conversation was born.

The Trouble With Beginners:

In our mind’s eye, we beginners have ‘the picture’. It’s the biggest, best, most eye-popping blog or website you’ve ever seen. It’s our baby, part of us, and we want to get it happening as soon as we can. Even worse, we desperately want to do it ourselves. Yet, lurking just beneath the surface of our shiny new websites are various shady characters like code, blogging platforms and flashy custom themes. Pretty soon, we beginners are stumbling around in the dark, losing weeks as we ogle tutorials, cut and paste code like mad cows, and trawl forums for answers.

And it’s a jungle out there! There are hundreds of thousands of sites offering tutorials and help, and the forums are like labyrinths, complete with the occasional cranky, biting creature that leaps at you from out of a dark corner.

Most of the time, (a nod in the direction of Donald Rumsfeld) we beginners simply don’t know what we don’t know. We don’t know that it’s not etiquette to ask for help in the comments sections of expert’s blogs (I’m not sure why this is), nor we do know that the same question we’re asking might have been asked 1000 times before in seven different ways. To be blunt, we just want to get on with creating our blogs and adding content.

A Few Words on Experts:

Whilst I can’t speak about setting up a blog from the point of view of an expert, I can speak about the characteristics of experts. They’re experts at writing code, plugins, tweaking the intestines of SQL databases, and other even more arcane and mysterious rituals that I can’t begin to imagine. Expert at things that make my mind go blank - in the same way the phrase patrilineal exogamous moieties probably looks like incomprehensible dribble to you. But I’m an expert in my field, I hang out with other anthropologists, chat online with them, read journals and ethnographies. Not for a moment is the phrase ‘patrilineal exogamous moieties’ strange or meaningless to me or my ‘tribe’.

The Anthropologist’s Gaze:

Beginners and experts are two very different ‘tribes’, speaking very different languages. I’m not telling you anything here that you don’t already know. What I’m highlighting though is the importance of listening and learning to speak each other’s language. After all, the ultimate purpose of tutorials and other resources written by experts for beginners is plain old communication and education - in other words, a conversation aimed a imparting knowledge.

Sometimes, however, the language barrier gets in the way: beginners can’t really hear what experts are saying. Other times, the way in which beginners work gets in the way, using both blogging platforms and tutorials in very different ways to which experts do.

That’s where some anthropological fieldwork -some user-based ethnography- comes in handy. Microsoft, Xerox and IBM employ ethnographers and anthropologists to go into homes, observe and understand just how people are using their products. They then use this information to improve existing or create new products. But rather than hire an anthropologist to start such a conversation, I’m going to suggest that beginners and experts get together and start a ‘conversation’.

One way to overcome the language barrier and really get into the minds of beginners is to get a group of them together and say:go for it guys! Give them your tutorial and get them to record step-by-step what they do and what it is they have in mind to achieve at each step of the process. Get them to write down the problems they had in understanding instructions. Ask: What do they do? How do they do it? Why are they doing these things? From this, you’d really be surprised what you’ll learn.

As an aside, I’ve used this method when consulting with Aboriginal Elders about all kinds of major works projects (like phosphate mines!) -trialling posters, 3D presentations and 3D storylines set up in creek beds and dusty tracks in the Australian outback. The process of asking people whether the story I tell is one they can understand, and their gentle advice on how to improve the stories I tell, has helped me learn how to speak their language and do my ‘thing’ better. It’s been an invaluable lesson that I’ve taken into every aspect of my life.

So think about it. Conversations, storytelling and listening: hardly rocket science, but the foundation of speaking each other’s languages.

—–
Amanda Markham writes at Desert Book Chick about books and the people who write them. You also find her on Twitter as Amanda467

Thanks, Amanda. We all need reminders like this one. Talking inside a fishbowl is a real social web problem for all of us!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Buy the ebook. Learn the art of online conversation.

Register Now!! for sobcon-vmc


Filed under Marketing, Successful Blog, Writing | 3 Comments »


March 13, 2010

Thanks to Week 229 SOBs

ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 9:39 am

muddy teal strip A

Successful and Outstanding Bloggers

Let me introduce the bloggers
who have earned this official badge of achievement,

Purple SOB Button Original SOB Button Red SOB Button Purple and Blue SOB Button
and the right to call themselves
Successful Blog SOBs.

I invite them to take a badge home to display on their blogs.

muddy teal strip A


bad-pitch-blog
gypsy-bandito
kymlee-is-awesome
regular-geek
the-whistling-duck

They take the conversation to their readers,
contribute great ideas, challenge us, make us better, and make our businesses stronger.

I thank all of our SOBs for thinking what we say is worth passing on.
Good conversation shared can only improve the blogging community.

Should anyone question this SOB button’s validity, send him or her to me. Thie award carries a “Liz said so” guarantee, is endorsed by Kings of the Hemispheres, Martin and Michael, and is backed by my brothers, Angelo and Pasquale.

deep purple strip

Want to become an SOB?

If you’re an SO-Wanna-B, you can see the whole list of SOBs and learn how to be one by visiting the SOB Hall of Fame– A-Z Directory . Click the link or visit the What IS an SOB?! page in the sidebar.

–ME “Liz” Strauss


Filed under SOB Business, Successful Blog | 2 Comments »


March 12, 2010

SOB Business Cafe 03-12-10

ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 9:22 am

SB Cafe

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking — articles, books, podcasts, and videos about business online written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the titles to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are

Chris Brogan
Someone else took your idea. You’ve been talking about it for years. That’s your thing. I can’t believe she said what I’ve been saying for years, and now she’s got a book. I could totally do that.

I Could Totally Do That

Saul Colt
Way back in October I put my “money where my mouth is” and challenged someone to come up with a new idea in Social Media because if there ever was something that needs re-invention, this is it …

What makes you so special on Social Media besides being “early”?

Tim’s Strategy
And if you listened to my appearance on the Recruiting Animal Radio Show you may have an interesting view of my personality and strengths. Animal has a well-honed way of sweeping your feet out from under you.

But the places I stumbled were not his fault. They were mine. I was not able to answer some pretty basic questions he asked. Ones that, I think, seem pretty straight-forward. Not intentionally deceptive at all.

So now I’m here to answer the big one. In full detail. For the world to evaluate and comment on.

How To Start, Maintain And End A Conversation With A Stranger

Social Media Marketing News

# Ask for feedback and/or ask questions at the end of a post.
# Comment on other’s blogs.
# Barrier to comments BAD (in other words, don’t make it difficult for people to leave comments).

20 ways to encourage engagement

Barry Moltz
I am horrible on putting things together. So when my son wanted a new basketball hoop I shivered.

I dutifully ordered it from Walmart and it came a few days later in the mail. One night, my son and I embarked on the journey called “Assembly Required.”

The Way Calls to the Customer Service Agent Should Be

Media Buzz
Instant messaging, viral marketing and social networking sites could make his workplace uncomfortable — even scary — for men and women raised in a slower time. Yet Wasiak surrounds himself with 20-somethings and 30-somethings and loves it.

“There’s no rule that says 20-year-olds are better at this than 60-year-olds,” says this cofounder of the creative development company The Concept Farm. “It’s the approach that counts.”

What Older Workers Bring to Marketing

Related ala carte selections include

Lewis Howes
wants to know … does this video entertain or offend you?

Journey To Success – Interview With Arthur Kade

Sit back. Enjoy your read. Nachos and drinks will be right over. Stay as long as you like. No tips required. Comments appreciated.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Buy the Insider’s Guide to Online Conversation.

Register Now!! for sobcon-vmc


Filed under Great Finds, Successful Blog | 5 Comments »


March 11, 2010

“Is your personal Web site an embarrassing entrance to your online house?”

ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 8:12 am

A Post on Web Identity by Sheila Scarborough

cooltext443794242_influence

If someone wants to know more about you before deciding to do business with you, they do not want to have to sort out your all-over-the-place lifestreaming babble on Twitter or Facebook or your 3 different blogs (at least no one probably wants to dig through mine!)

They want to be able to go to one place and quickly figure out what you’re all about.

The question is, in the fragmented social Web, which is the one site where people can go to find out what they need to know about you and your talents….and is that site an accurate representation of your various talents, skills and current interests?

I’ll bet that place is not your personal Web site.

You know the URL I mean: www.YourName.com that you bought years ago, stuck into a basic site design template with a few links and a photo - WooHoo 2005! - and then ignored because you went off to start a blog (which was vastly more entertaining and malleable than a dumb old static Web site.)

Here’s the problem….if you Google yourself, where does that website show up in the search engine results? If you’re like me, it’s at the very top, sometimes even above the blogs, LinkedIn profile, etc.

Your most disheveled online self is the first one that many strangers see. It’s not only your digital bra strap showing, it’s your pants on the ground!

Google my name, and the first thing that pops up is my clunky, unloved, ignored Web site that I set up to be a freelance print writer’s portfolio exactly 9-12 months before I realized that I didn’t want to be just a print writer. Since I’ve lost interest in the original purpose, I’ve lost interest in the site.

Sure, it is one-stop shopping for all of my projects and I do keep it updated, but it is a visual wasteland and I’m too cheap to spend any money on it. I’m embarrassed to include the URL on my business cards even though it would be easier for my customers to find me there. I have the URL in my standard email signature, but I often erase it before I hit “Send” because the blog URLs that are also in my signature are much more reflective of my best work “here and now.”

This is absurd, but what can one do with the blasted things? There’s probably a solid place for that site in your online portfolio, but you and I both need to figure out how it fits who we are and where we’re going. The answer is to either suck it up and spend time/money on a redesign, or do something now to make it less embarrassing.

One possibility: why not turn it into a nice jumping-off point for your many endeavors? If people are going to show up at that URL, give them something nice to look at and then get them the heck out of there.

Steal this idea - and I probably will, too - a “business card” landing page on your personal name site that only exists to send visitors over to the real party. For example, look at Becky McCray’s site. She has a (professionally made) welcoming photo on one page, with links to all of the other sandboxes where she works and plays. People can scroll down, pick one and launch.

Obviously, control your own domain name on the Web when it is possible to do so, then put a site there that is worthy of you. You’ve worked hard to have a respected name and reputation; ensure that your personal site reflects that as much as the rest of your online “house.”

Is your personal Web site an embarrassing entrance to your online house?

—–
Sheila Scarborough writes at Sheila’s Guide to Good Stuff , for Family Travel Guide and the Perceptive Travel Blog. She also covers drag racing for Fast Machines. Tourism Currents is what she’ll be talking about at SOBCon this year. You’ll find her on Twitter as @sheilas

As always, Sheila, I loved every word of it!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Buy the ebook. Learn the art of online conversation.

Register Now!! for sobcon-vmc


Filed under Business Life, Motivation/Inspiration, Successful Blog | 5 Comments »



« go back — keep looking »