Seth Godin

Hyperlocal Is The Way To Go

Garth Beyer

What would you do if you ran your own news organization?

I’ve thought this over many times. I would take Seth Godin’s advice and create a local newspaper. I would want it to be community oriented and focus more on making people feel important by listening to their stories. I’ve come to find that everyone (and I mean everyone) has a remarkable story to tell. It would be our job to tell it.

Remarkable stories get read. Remarkable often comes from that which is close to theheart. Simple as that.

 

Stay Positive & Home Is Where The Heart Is

A Tribal Puzzle

Garth Beyer

We are all programmed to find, build, and invest in tribes. It’s just one natural order of being human. Seth Godin proves it in his book Tribes and Lee Richard states the obvious of it in his introduction to Jack Reacher’s Rules.

What puzzles me, though, is that we work best in smaller tribes, yet strive to make large tribes. In businesses, the rule is 150, Dunbar’s number. It’s the maximum number of people who can work socially and effectively in a group. Yet, most businesses do their best to fit as many employees in one large building as possible.

There are three major startup curators in Madison, WI. (100state, Sector67, and gener8tor.) All are working to come together under one roof. To that, I ask, why?

When all data reflects the smaller the better, why strive for more, more, more?

The way I see it is this, if you release a product, make sure it targets a small audience. Focus all your attention on the 20 percent that you can profit from and forget the other 80 percent that will take all your time and energy. And if by some chance, your product begins to appeal to the other 80 percent as strongly as the first 20 percent, then open it up. But until that day, quit striving for it.

I guarantee more creative projects will come out of the three startup curators while separated than when under the same roof.

 

Stay Positive & Less Is More, More, More

Garth E. Beyer

The Average

Garth Beyer

that you were just thinking of isn’t the average anymore.

The average isn’t what it was 10 years ago, 10 months ago, or 10 minutes ago. And certainly 10 seconds from now, the average will be higher.

People are constantly raising the bar. Will you be one of those people?

 

Stay Positive & Drip By Drip You Can

Garth E. Beyer

Appearance Isn’t Everything, But It’s Something

Garth Beyer

In continuation with yesterday’s writing about having a presence, I was going to write about having a unique appearance, one that someone in the industry you’re trying to break into doesn’t already have.

Seth Godin (jokes?) that he shaved his head and wore different socks on each foot because no one in his field was doing that. It made him stand out.

For me, I follow Oscar Wilde’s adage that you can never be overeducated or overdressed. I dress in a way that makes me stand out amidst other professionally dressed players.

The idea, though, of standing out in your field by changing your appearance has pitfalls.

“I’m too scared to buy anything from that guy!” is exactly what a friend of mine said when we walked past a table of shiny rocks and gem stones. The seller was wearing a gray tank-top, roughly (and I mean roughly) six foot two, with arms like logs. Not to mention, he was tattooed on his chest, his arms, his neck, and all around his face.

Does he stand out in his stone selling business? I’m sure he does.

Does it work out to his advantage? Of course not.

Yes, as a book salesman, you want to stand out, as a writer, you want to stand out, as a marketer, you want to stand out; it needs to be everyone’s priority to stand out, but don’t catch yourself going overboard. The face tattoos… a bit overboard.

 

Stay Positive & It Can Be As Little As Having Sexy Pocket Squares

Garth E. Beyer

Worse Than Being Spied On (Being Branded)

Garth Beyer

You’re getting branded, right now, as you read this, as you think about it. You’re being branded.

What makes this worse than being spied on is that you know you’re being branded. 100 % certainty. The only guarantee this market can give you as that you’re being branded.

Every action you take, the words you share, the style you present adds to your brand.

Food for thought. Hope you’re eating right.

Yes, even food is an attribute to your brand. I will always remember the Justin’s chocolate peanut butter cups and sushi that Seth Godin had for everyone at his Pick Yourself event.

Business Meets Soggy Cereal

Garth Beyer

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A friend of mine purposefully waits for her cereal to get soggy. Now, the way my mind works, I couldn’t help but relate it to businesses. Sure, some people love their cereal soggy, they love that a business is still there even after it gets drowned (e.g., by the economy, by critics, by amazon reviews).

This is fine, I don’t judge her for enjoying her soggy cereal or when people buy clothes from Abercrombie & Fitch. Nor do I judge those who only want the crisp, new; the top of the line crunch and taste of just-poured cereal or fresh creative clothing.

The real problem (aside from milk pouring down your chin when you take a bite) is that cereal gets soggy. Cereal will always get soggy.

You can fight it by putting less milk in the bowl, by dividing the cereal inside the bowl, or by eating the cereal fast, but always, every cereal gets soggy.

Or you can leave your business to run itself and go create a new type of cereal.

 

Stay Positive & I’ve Never Seen Cereal Get Unsoggy

Garth E. Beyer

Photo credit

Connect To Connect To Connections

Garth Beyer

Yesterday I participated in a Twitter chat that a dear friend of mine put together.

For some it was their first Twitter chat, for others, far from their last. #cxchat is where connectors, entrepreneurs, creatives and makers share resources on topics such as networking, relationship management, professional growth, and community development.

Hosted by Michelle, she came up with a question every ten minutes that introduced a new topic. Rather than going through my reaction to the chat, here are three notes I really want to make.

1.

2. (What I believe is) the most powerful moment of the chat – when Karthik tweeted “Knowledge is on wikipedia, what’s not is the courage to apply it.”

3. You can find the #cxchat summary here.

Oh, yes. Can’t end without saying that Michelle will be putting on another #cxchat Tuesday the 11th at 4:00p.m. eastern time.

 

Stay Positive & Looking For Role Models?

Garth E. Beyer

*Yes, number 1 was left blank because I was speechless. Speechless that there really are people out there that want to connect with you, hear your ideas, share them, nurture them, and encourage you in return for your encouragement. There are people who are not looking to make it big, but working to make it – whatever “it” is into something remarkable. I’m speechless because after connecting with these impresario’s, they connected me to even more.