1. You run out of time (and quit).
2. You run out of money (and quit).
3. You get scared (and quit).
4. You’re not serious about it (and quit).
5. You lose interest or enthusiasm or settle for being mediocre (and quit).
6. You focus on the short term instead of the long (and quit when the short term gets too hard).
7. You pick the wrong thing at which to be the best in the world (because you don’t have the talent).

From Seth Godin’s book, The Dip.

Any idea is nothing until acted upon.

How often have you heard someone say, “They stole my idea”? They didn’t steal anything. You have to act on it.

The other problem for some entrepreneurs is that they just want to put ideas in motion. No follow through. Nothing beyond the excitement of starting something. They leave it up to others to execute and carry through on the idea.

When I have listened to Start-ups pitch, the one thing always lacking is a sales plan. It’s great to germinate an idea and launch a business, but how will you make money? I think many hope to be like Twitter: put a ball and bat in a yard and watch other people play with it until you figure out a business model. Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and AOL bought many companies but not more than 120 per year. It’s like buying lottery tickets as your retirement plan.

It’s not the idea, it’s the execution on that idea that leads to success.

On RAD’s Radar has a bunch of the insights and quotes from the sessions I attended at GROWCO.

Now I will sum up the conference in 4 points.

Number 1: I would have to say that in order to really grow your business you need to tell a story. That’s first and foremost. And not a story that is Me, Me, Me. Over the ages storytelling is how history was passed down. You know your own family history from listening to your parents and grandparents tell you stories. If you want people to talk about your company and refer business to you, you need to be able to tell a clear, concise story about what you do that benefits the person who is listening. (It takes time to create this message).

Whether you are networking, giving a presentation, answering a customer complaint, or on a sales appointment, remember that people care about themselves, not you. What message do you want them to take away? (It can only be one message).

Your Brand is the Emotional memory that a person has for either your company or logo or product. I usually describe it as 1K of memory storage of everything they know or have heard about your company. But there has to be an emotional string there somewhere for them to care one way or another. Apathy is the absence of emotion. [FYI, the Coke/Pepsi Challenge with brain imaging]

“You are building a relationship not a sale,” says Norm Brodsky. Raving Fans, Repeat Customers, and Referrals all come from relationships. You need to care about your customer more than making a sale. Period.

It all starts with the Hiring. You can’t teach Friendly. Hire Slow, Fire Fast. If the candidate isn’t smiling and trying to win the position, don’t bother hiring them. Corporate Culture is about hiring friendly, trustworthy people that care about the same things that you care about. [See the story of Zappos.com or any article by Norm Brodsky]

I find that if I don’t carefully monitor my social media time, I can quickly have 30 tabs open in Firefox and be lost for hours replying, commenting, reading, re-tweeting, until the morning or afternoon is gone and I have to get in fireman costume to get any real work done.

And notice that much of that is just following links and reading the feed. There’s a lot of information out there. I’m slowly learning how to scan and move along. While I am not sure what I expected from Buzz, I do know that it is becoming like Posterous. People are using Buzz as an aggregation of all of their social media interactions – tweet, blog, yadda yadda. Whereas I was looking for a filter to get less noise, I know get more noise from each person I follow.

I have to wonder, what are these people thinking?

Sally Hogshead, the author of Fascinate, noted this, “In an attempt to be all things to all people, most brands end up being nothing to anyone.”

Take a moment to think about that.

Why is that? Let’s take a look at Oil of Olay. Back in the day I worked for Richard-Vicks Research just as Proctor&Gamble acquired them. At the time, there was only the pink bottle of Oil of Olay. We were working on the first non-pink version, Young Oil-Free, which was removing the coloring and re-formulating it without oil. At the same time, we were working on a clear, colorless eye conditioner. And so began the expansion of the Olay Brand. Today, there is about 8 feet of shelf space in Publix of Olay products. They have diluted the brand to the point that no one even knows what product to buy. I watched two women look at a few bottles each and end up choosing none.

Social Media is a great platform for Personal Branding. However, I see that people want to be all things to all people. They want their message to be seen by all people. They want that message populated across all networks because someone may miss it.

Trust me on this: most of the messages (blog, tweet, whatever) are not so significant that everyone has to see it. I get to see it for many people at least twice a day – the same tweet or update – and it is tiresome.

Most of this noise isn’t even a conversation, but a broadcast. It’s a news update from your own station.

It’s not even a conversation starter. It’s Advertising. Why do I say that? Because it’s “look at me!” “look at me!” We need less of that.

I know that there is some overlap in my social networks – LinkedIn, twitter, Facebook, Buzz, etc. I do know that my goal on each is very different. On LinkedIn, it’s all business. LI is my rolodex and my resume. Twitter is about news and connecting with others in the industry. It’s a news feed as well as a place to have a fascinating conversation. Facebook is where you go if you want to see a more personal view, but I rarely connect with folks on FB and LI anymore. I push everyone to LI. In most cases, I don’t need to know that much info about someone I do business with. Remember how your mother said not to talk about politics and religion at dinner? There’s a reason for that – even moreso today in our very much polarized world.

So what does all this rambling mean? What is your goal on each network? Is it to be like Guy and broadcast your message across all platforms to every single set of eyeballs?

As Steve Tingiris of Enthusem.com told me, we are at a point when the marketing is getting closer to one-to-one. If that is so, why are people still trying to puke on the masses? They are listening less and less. (See Deanna’s stats from Spike Jones at Social Fresh Tampa: “76% of people think that companies lie in advertising. 77% Percent of people trust companies less than they did a year ago.”)

I would venture to guess that your message could be better targeted as well. It’s easier to broadcast across all streams, but what is your goal? Who are you targeting and why? And where are they? And why are they there?

1. quite a few people do not have the skills for today’s knowledge economy

2. our education system doesn’t equip students with employment skills

We live in an Outsourcing environment. Companies are downsizing, but are also hiring contractors and consultants to fill needs and get projects done. We are moving to a world of Freelancers.

This is scary for many people because there is no job security in freelancing. There are no vacation and health benefits. And you have to sell yourself! That’s the scariest part. It’s like being on job interviews all the time.

Let me tell you something: as a W-2 (employee) you don’t have job security either. But you do have the illusion of it that let’s you sleep at night. Benefits are even being cut to the retirees! What? you put in your 20 years and along comes a benefits cut! BAM! What now?

Americans rely on the state and federal governments for too much. And the taxpayers get mad when the budget skyrockets. The government back stops insurance, banking, education, infrastructure, the military, etc. It can’t do that forever. You will need to take some responsibility for it yourself.

As we move into the Era of Freelancers, you will need to keep current on your industry as well as on skills. For instance, as a web designer you have to keep up on CSS, Java, PHP, .NET, etc. As a graphic artist, you have to keep up on Adobe products, but also mobile web sizing.

Many businesses will be relying on the skills of freelancers – consultants, contractors, 1099’s – for long term and short term projects, goals and skills.  The soon you get used this idea the sooner you can start planning for it.

1. What marketable skills do you have (what’s your cash machine)?
2. How will you market those skills?
3. What training do you need to stay current (or certified)?
4. What conferences do you need to attend to stay current and noticed?
5. What are you passionate about?
6. How will you Crush It?
7. How do you become a Linchpin in your niche?
8. Think about the Brand Called You!

Maggie Fox is the keynote at Social Fresh Tampa today. And she is talking about ways to broadcast. Big Brands only understand advertising, so social media becomes another vehicle for advertising. Her formula is to combine Earned PR with Paid Advertising and syndicate it through the Brand’s channels.

It’s not a big concept. It’s just using an Earned piece of publicity and re-purposing it over and over. Syndication means that your company – every company – is now a media organization. You have a chance to control the message — in a way. (On social networks, you only have the illusion of control.)

Best quote from one panel: “Advertising is the tax your business pays for being unremarkable.”

The other way to use social networks is to engage your marketplace. Listening is the important first step. The second step is to create compelling content. The final step is to engage your audience. Interact with them.

My rule of thumb is re-tweet two tweets; tweet two interesting(and hopefully original) items; and reply to two things daily.

The number of followers is irrelevant (unless you are a Big Brand). It’s the number of listeners that you have that is significant.

Give them something to listen to. Give them something to repeat.

Tell them a story about you, your product or service, your employees, your charity, your customers. That’s human interest.

You need to be a story-teller and a good listener.

If you are a small business, you probably want the second way. If you are a big Brand, you are probably trying to figure out how to capitalize on the first way (Earned+Paid+Syndication). It boils down to advertising versus WOM. Word-of-Mouth is the friend of small business.

Here are the Top 3 Online marketing Assignments

1. Have an overall plan for the entirety of your online marketing.

2. Have a plan of attack for each platform.

3. Execute by scheduling time.

In some ways, all of your online messages should be aimed at one theme. An editorial calendar to let you know that in January you will be talking about this one subject or charity or purpose all month in some way across the online world. In February or in the second quarter, it can be another theme or subject or case study. Or it can be the same one all year long.

Note: You want to be speaking about the same keywords across all platforms to tie you to that keyword. (Usually we call this SEO, search engine optimization).

When you have disparate internet properties – more than 1 domain name for example or you blog on wordpress – you have to find a way to tie the properties together. Maybe it’s a blog roll box, a contact page, an about us page, a where-to-connect box, etc.

Note: This is linking it all together. Your theme based on keyword(s) will tie it all together.

Many companies want to be everything to everybody. That’s fine if you are GM, Subway, Nike, Coke or McDonalds – and have their marketing budget. But you don’t. So the more finely tuned your message is, the better.

The more targeted your message is to a very specific audience, the cheaper and easier it is to market to that niche.

So you read the book, get a blog, start filming some video, writing some content. Now what?

The average blogger doesn’t make peanuts off Google Adwords, so that isn’t going to be your monetization strategy. Ads? Well, when you get to 25,000 page views per day, you can talk to sponsors about ads and CPM. So what does that leave?

One thing is affiliate product links.You can sell other people’s products on your blog or website to make some affiliate dollars.  [NOTE: Under new FTC rules, you have to identify that you are an affiliate now. ]  Some people do very well with this. Many do not.

The other is selling your own product or services. Ah! But you don’t have any. Right.

Also, do you have corporate structure set up? Do you understand the tex implications of being self-employed – even as an affiliate because you do have to claim that income. (The company paying you is claiming it pays you).

If you have your own product, how do you produce and ship it? What about accepting credit cards? Do you have Business Liability insurance? Does your Home Owners Association allow you to run a commercial business out of your house? Are their zoning laws or other county or state regulations that you need a permit or certificate for? How will you collect and pay sales taxes?

One of the reasons businesses fail is because more than half of running a business has nothing to do with the “FUN” part. There’s admin, bookkeeping, payroll, taxes, insurance, HR, accounts payable, accounts receivable, etc. When you had that W-2, there were other departments that handled all that. You just did your job. Now you are that company – every department – and it will eat up your day.

You know what else I forgot? Sales. You are now the Chief Sales Officer of Brand You. That’s probably not what you thought you would be doing when you got started.

Things to think about for certain.

Two resources: E-Myth by Michael Gerber and SCORE.org, a group of retired execs that help small businesses.

Google them. If not much comes up, then they are all talk no action.

Review their Twitter profile. If it is updated multiple times every day with @ replies and RT retweets as well as his/her own tweets – daily – then they are just giving it lip service.

Read their blog. Is it current? Is it updated multiple times per week? What do they talk about?

It’s not about the number of followers. It’s about the number of people listening. It’s about the number of people you are engaging that makes social media so powerful.

Gary Vee says it is the platforms to utilize for personal branding. He’s right. Marketing is marketing. The key today is to tell a compelling story that will interest your audience. Publishing that story is the magic pixie dust of social media because you can publish it for free on many platforms.

So before you plunk down money on social media training, make certain that the person in the front of the room is actually utilizing social media – and utilizing the way that you might want to.

In addition, if they talk about the number of followers, walk away. It’s about the message (the story, the content). It’s about having a conversation with the marketplace.

To do that, the expert should help you with your strategy, your goal for each platform you will be active on, and identify who you are targeting and where they hang out. (No sense in being on MySpace if you aren’t targeting teens and musicians).

Don’t listen to just anybody. You didn’t for your offline marketing, did you?

Gary started in retail at the age of 6 with lemonade stands. That’s right: plural. He had others working for him over the summer. He understood early that business is about eyeballs.

We agree on 2 points:  (1) Storytelling is the key to business. (2) Social media is just a marketing tool like the printing press. It isn’t about the tool; it’s all about the story to the market.

Gary says that if you don’t get Twitter or Facebook, get over it because millions are using it. That’s where the eyeballs are, so you better be there. But doing what? It isn’t about Talking. It’s about Listening. (Which btw is a huge lesson in sales. Two ears, one mouth; listen twice as much as you talk

Too many businesses draw a line in the sand. You have to see trends and go with the flow. “Business is  a game of change.” If billions are on FB – but more important, if your target market is on FB or Twitter – then you need to be there to. Listening, engaging, telling your story. The World Wrestling Entertainment is about storytelling. Disney and Pixar are all about stories. Branding is about the story that the consumer has heard about your brand – the sum total of story, experience, WOM (word-of-mouth), and emotional tag. How you feel about Dunkin Donuts or Nike is the branding.

Another point he made has been made by Seth Godin: You have to know what business you are in. During Q&A (which was half the night), Gary kept asking people these questions:

• Who are you?
• What are you selling?
• What’s your story?
• Where are you going?
• What are your expectations?
• What do you expect to happen?
• What do you want to happen?

His answer to most questions was Content. That translates into Personal Branding online. Buy the domain yourname.com. Start a blog. Video, audio, text – doesn’t matter. Start producing content (and stories) about what you are passionate about, what you have knowledge about. But do it in your own voice. This is your online presence, your home on the Internet – just 15 years old but changing everything everyday.

He spoke over and again about Transparency. Basically, be authentic, because if you aren’t, you will be caught and outed. In a similar vein, remember that everything is recorded for posterity today. Cameras are everywhere. Everything you put online is permanent. If you aren’t authentic, it will come out.

When it comes to What are you selling, be Honest with yourself. It’s okay for it to be about the Benjamins. Just make certain that you know what you want and expect, so that you know where you are headed.

Gary Vee’s BHAG is to own the NY Jets. It’s what guides his actions. Having a seven month old child may have changed that just a little bit. He’s all about “Crushing It” – working smart and hard. He works 19 hours per day. (He is cutting back to 15 now). What’s yours? What guides your business decisions? What is  your Goal or Vision that keeps you motivated?  (It’s a key part of the equation).

Note: Lack of self-esteem and laziness is destroying business value.

Gary mentioned that WOM converts to a sale 70% of the time. Advertising converts 12%. Today, with online personal branding your job is to create fans, who will spread the word (re-tell your story) about your business to prospects, who will become customers.

We are becoming more connected and more documented every day. So the days of chasing the quick cash might be coming to an end.

Gary thinks the Wal-Mart Era is almost over and it will become the Niche Era. We will win next. Oops! There will be 2000 to 8000 of Yoga Chicks in your area. You better have the skills and the work ethic to beat them. YOU are the Differentiating factor.

Here’s why Gary thinks the Zappos story is so important: because it is the story about how Culture and Service won (not price). Zappos cost more than other online shoes stores, but the Culture was to make the customer happy. That won out (when its competitor, Amazon bought Zappos for $1B)

The other thing to notice is that customers are going through an Expectation Shift. Instant Customer Service will be expected or you will become a commodity (and lowest price will win).

BTW, that social media thing? It takes time to work, so be patient.

UPDATE:  Fellow Tampa blogger, Deana Goldasich, has  a great write-up about the Gary Vee talk here.