When I read the book Meatball Sundae by Seth Godin, it reminded me of one of his previous books I read, Purple Cow. But was it just the content of the book, or the fact that the book arrived to me several years ago in a milk carton?

The premise of the book Purple Cow, published in 2002, is about being remarkable. Godin’s point is that in an age where we are deluged with images and messages, these have reduced their overall effectiveness, and to get your message out there, your product or service needs to be different or unique in its own way. The first example in the book is driving through farm lands and seeing cow after cow and they all look alike, but a cow that is purple will stand out and be remembered, thus remarkable.

So is remarkable something you put on top of a product or service? Not necessarily. The book gives examples of how L.L. Bean and Sears Craftsman line of tools are remarkable in their unconditional return policy. Ikea is remarkable in how they sell low-cost, assemble-yourself furniture that is extremely stylish. Dr. Bronner’s soap is remarkable in its unique labeling.

My greatest takeaway is that remarkable is not a gimmick. From the above examples, what makes them remarkable are attributes that have lasted for years. Gimmicks may drive sales, but not over the long term. Gimmicks are also not considered sincere.

Another takeaway is that you may already be remarkable. When many entrepreneurs venture out on their own, their catalyst is often they can do what they do better or in a more unique way from where they previously worked. They may not have been able to do it, whatever it is, when they worked for someone else and have the conviction to do it themselves. This was part of my own motivation for starting Dunkirk Systems, LLC.

The book Purple Cow does not over-do it with examples and is an energetic, quick read. If you are venturing out on your own, or taking a strategic look at your business I recommend reading the book as it will definitely inspire you, and you may get some ideas from it as well.

Book Take-Aways • Business • (2) Comments • Permalink

Many times when I meet people and tell them I develop Web sites, a common reaction is the person starts apologizing for their own Web site. They say they have a Web site, but it sucks! They then continue to say how it was something done by themselves or on the cheap and it needs to be more robust and have a better design.

However when I eventually look at their Web site, I often have a different reaction. Where some of their points are valid, I am looking at the Web site from multiple viewpoints. As a Web developer, I look to see if the Web site is technically sound and has a clean design. I then put myself in the shoes of the consumer and see if I can find sufficient information on the entity, such as if I can find their phone number or hours.

When I circle back to the person, I pass along my quick evaluation, and tell them it’s better to have something than nothing at all. If you’re a new business and haven’t created your branding or marketing plan, simply have a 1-page Web site with your name and contact information. When you do develop these, ensure the design of your Web site allows for iteration, where you can add content and functionality over time, as you have the time to create it.

This is the beauty of the Web – you don’t have to do it all at once as with a paper brochure.

Business • (2) Comments • Permalink

Oh, if I could only just raise my prices.

If business is slow and I don’t have any new prospects or projects, I could just raise the prices I charge my current clients. And even if I do have enough business, I could still raise prices each time I send them an invoice, as that would surely increase my revenue. Well, for a short period of time, as eventually my clients would become suspect of what I was doing and look elsewhere. And its not that I would be changing my services or products, I would just be charging more for them.

As you might have guessed, the preceding was sarcasm. And if you didn’t guess that, it was! Ask any entrepreneur and as much as they would love to do that, the reality is that would never work, and clients and customers would surely leave. Instead, we strive to continuously add value through new and improved products and services, continuously seek out new clients and customers and work feverishly to keep costs down. Call it the independent spirit, or just call it the reality of the world.

Why restate the obvious? As much as I try to keep The Hot Iron non-political and solely focused on tech and business (and when I do stray I get reminded of why I strive towards this), when small businesses are impacted I am compelled to address it. The sales tax in the city of Chicago will be increasing to 10.25%, the highest in the nation. For those who don’t know, the sales tax in the Windy City is comprised of 3 portions, for the city, Cook County and the state. The city portion is increasing a quarter percent and the county portion will increase 1 percent, with the money going to bailout debt-ridden public transportation and hospitals. However nowhere in these increases are there any cost-cutting or efficiencies or increases in services. This Wall Street Journal editorial on the tax increases said it best, “…the county is "not only refusing to tighten its belt, it's acting as if it doesn't have to wear a belt." Then again, it'd be business as unusual if patronage were somehow extracted from Chicago's machine politics. Too bad for the city's actual businesses and residents.”

Yes, too bad indeed. And as easy as it would be to just raise my prices, it’s more fun to run with the independent spirit, even if it takes me elsewhere.

Business • (3) Comments • Permalink

Congratulations to me and my little blog, The Hot Iron, for being an SOB! And it’s not what you think – it stands for Successful and Outstanding Blogger. I recently received this designation by Liz Strauss, a business relationship consultant and blogging expert. As that description doesn’t begin to do her justice, read her bio at her blog, Successful Blog.

Liz is also the founder of the SOBCon conference, and the second annual event will be held on May 2-4 in Chicago. Visit the Web site for more information and to register.

Announcements • Business • (4) Comments • Permalink

In the shadow of just about everyone is a burgeoning to-do list. Some things are essential, some need to get done eventually. The bigger it gets, the less motivated you can get that you will complete them all.

Like many of you I have one, and I was seeking a way to motivate myself to pare it down. I then recalled a blog post a while back by Andy Wibbels on his concept called 30h30d, or 30 hours in 30 days. The principle is you take your list, identify tasks that are an hour in length, for those that are longer, break them into hour-long pieces, and schedule one a day for the next 30 days. Its beauty is in its straight-forward simplicity.

I started it last Wednesday, and as of today I have completed 7 days and as a result 7 tasks. I must admit not every task was a complete hour (scheduling a doctor appointment) and some took a little longer (integrating Feedburner monetization into my sourcegate technical tips blog), and with these examples you can see there’s a mix of business and personal tasks.

So far so good. My reporting this has a dual purpose – to inform people of this method, and to publicly let people know I am doing it, adding more accountability to this endeavor.

Edited 2/18/2017 - As the original posts and my blog linked in here were no longer valid, I deleted the links. As I wanted to use 30h30d again, I created my own chart based on the picture in this post, and you can get a copy of my 30h30d chart here.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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Business • (3) Comments • Permalink