September 2005 Archives

Jackie Huba at “Church of the Customer” (which you should be reading, by the way) asks for opinions on buying a new computer to replace her laptop and desktop. Here are her requirements.

Not to be a Mac freak, but I would just like to mention that my friends and I have started a new business while also moving half way across the world. Through airports, hotels, trains, and flats we’ve had lots of challenges but one thing we never had to worry about was our Powerbooks.

The funny thing is, in Prague, where Macs are far less common, almost all of the laptops you see in cafes are Powerbooks or iBooks. There is a good reason for this: Mac laptops are light, rugged, and made to move. You can pop into a cafe or office and they will almost always find the internet and get you up and running with no problems.

Everyone I know who has switched to a Mac today uses their computer to do more things than they ever would have attempted on their Windows machine. There is a learning curve, but its not huge or painful and you will find lots of Mac users more than happy to help you out.

So my advice is go for the Mac. Especially for a small business, you have enough to worry about without fighting your technology too.

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Seth Godin says “standing out is not the same thing as being remarkable. Standing out can just as easily get you ostracized.” (from Justin and Ashley) So true. In fact, sometimes being remarkable even means being the same.

Case in point: A lot of places in Prague claim to sell French Baguettes, but not very many of them do. Oh sure, they look like baguettes, but when you actually bite into them you find out they are something quite different. A baguette is light, almost like air. But these are heavy and usually tasteless. Definitely not the “baguette experience” I paid for.

For a while I thought all hope was lost. That is until I found Paneria. They sell really authentic baguettes. The kind that makes you want to eat it in the park along with some wine and cheese.

So now I tell everyone I know who cares about finding quality bread in Prague about Paneria. They are remarkable because they give me just what I expect. They are remarkable because they are the same.

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Peter, Chris and I are in Munich celebrating Oktoberfest. We’ll see you in a few days. urp.

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MarketingSherpa just released a new report on email usage in the US. Among the most interesting of the data is that Google’s Gmail is now among the top 10 providers (though with only 2.5% but at the expense of Microsoft’s Hotmail/MSN) and that 92% of internet users rely on email versus only 80% who use search.

Email is truly the killer app of the internet. In fact, when a Czech person tells you their email address here, they call the ”@” sign “symbol for the internet”. They are not alone. For many people email IS the internet.

The truth is, for many businesses your website may help attract interested prospects, but your email interaction will close the sale or generate repeat sales. How much time have you spent worrying about the quality of your email?

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You know, its pretty easy to complain about how crappy big companies can be (see, for example, my “recent post” on Apple).

On the other hand, there are some really good things about big companies too. Take for example, convenience. A few years ago I had my laptop along stolen while I was living in Paris. I was paniced. To replace my laptop, my insurance company needed a police report. The file a police report I had to provide a sales receipt. Of course, I had nothing left except my passport and some clothes so I wasn’t much in a position to provide this paperwork to my police.

Then I called Apple. They have 24-hour customer support, including the weekends, and even an international line. The helpful assistant on the other end was able to find my purchase and fax me a new receipt within 15 minutes. Suddenly my insolvable problem was solvable.

What if I had instead bought my computer from a local retailer in Kansas? I would have to wait until American business hours and even then I may or may not be able to get a new receipt from this local business.

Imagine how impressed I would have been if I had bought from a small local business and they had been able to provide the same kind of service I received from Apple.

Despite all the bad things big companies do, we continue to buy from them for all sorts of reasons. Things like convenience and lower prices come to mind.

On the Internet, where big and small companies compete side-by-side, we small businesses need to recognize the good things that big companies do provide and learn how to do the same thing. In short, we have to learn how to “act big.”

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As a former news reporter (including 15 or so years with USA Today) who has made a career out of the written word, I am used to writing pretty much anything and everything. News stories, opinion columns, short fiction, a business how-to book – I thought I had done it all. But then Sproutit.com came into my life, and here I am writing for a blog for the first time in my writing life.

It all started when, out of the blue one day, I got an e-mail from Charles Jolley, saying he had read my book, Media Training 101 and he wanted to meet for lunch to discuss my working on Sproutit.com’s public relations. So I Google-d him and found out what an innovative techie he is and wrote him back. Halfway through our lunch – seafood salads and a view of heavenly Santa Monica beach – I knew I had to be a part of Sproutit.com.

Sproutit.com is a huge success in the making, but that’s not the only reason I wanted to work with these guys it’s because I and my business fit the profile of Sproutit.com’s ideal customer.

SA Stewart Communications is almost three years old, so we’ve made it past the usual small business death traps. And one of the reasons for our success is the ongoing democratization of technology. Thanks to affordable technology, my boutique public relations consulting business can do almost anything the big guys can do. And we can do it faster and more cost-effectively than an oversized, bureaucratic multi-national PR firm can. I can afford the databases, the always-on Internet access, the 800 numbers. SA Stewart Communications might be small in size but we’re big in the jobs we handle.

And that is what Sproutit.com is all about: Giving small businesses the resources so they can “Act Big�. E-mail that gets prioritized and answered automatically. Time management software that not only is written for small businesses – not mammoth law firms – but actually works without crashing every time you need an invoice printed out. Bookkeeping programs designed for small businesses, with the tax categories every small business owner needs built right in.

So, as you track the Sproutit.com blog and keep track of Charles, Chris and Peter as they launch the biggest company for small businesses, don’t think of my company as their small public relations company. Think of my firm as a global PR powerhouse.

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The folks at Mac developer Nisus Software, my former employer, received a notice from Google a few days ago telling them that they can no longer use the word “Mac” in their Google ads. Considering that they sell a word processor for mac this basically makes AdWords completely useless to them.

According to some other sites, Google is doing this because Apple Legal sent them a letter requesting that all use of the word “Mac” along with “iPod” and other Apple trademarks be blocked in Google Ads.

I love Apple but, how stupid is that? Hey legal, your developers need to advertise so that they can bring you more customers. Your customers need to see these ads so they have a reason to buy more of your computers. So what do you do? Take steps to block people who develop for you from using the only form of online advertising that has been proven effective in the last ten years.

Great job Apple. Whose in charge there anyway? The people who worry about trademarks or the people that want to sell computers? I always thought it was the later.

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So, my cell phone rang at 3 pm today, and my father was on the line. It seems that he has been asked to be ‘voluntarily’ evacuated from his home near Houston due to the now class 4 hurricane, Rita.

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I am right now sitting in the stereotypical smokey cafe in Europe sipping an espresso and munching on an apple strudel. (“espresso piccolo” is what you need to ask for, by the way, if you are in Prague.) Later today I am going to go with Jenna to visit the castle, then to the symphony and later tonight I’ll go back to some place to get on the internet and work for a bit longer.

To me, the best thing about the small business life is the lifestyle. Not the money. Not the respect. But the chance to sit in a cafe with some good friends in the middle of Prague working on my new business just because I can.

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Mena of Six Apart writes about the benefits of being big and Jason of 37signals responds. Great debate. But the truth is, there are good things about both big and small and your customers really want you to be both.

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Sorry for the periodic down time recently. We are having some trouble with our current hosting setup which I am trying to resolve while also setting up Internet, etc. in Prague. I will get it fixed as soon as possible.

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We made it! So, far….

No blog yesterday…due to IKEA. Huh?

Well, we rented a wonderful flat with enormous rooms and a second floor, but without any furniture. So, Charles spent Tuesday at IKEA, Charles and Peter spent the day on Wednesday at IKEA, and then all of us spent the whole day on Thursday at IKEA.

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Flying from NY’s JFK to Dublin is THE shortest international flight I have ever taken from the US. I flew on the Irish airline, Aer Lingus; know for its low prices (due to the fact that booze ain’t free). Well, I am sitting in the only wireless internet cafe I have been able to find in centre city Dublin. I would have thought finding wireless internet would have been much easier, but I was mistaken.

So, only 4 hours to go until my layover comes to an end and I finally make it to Prague. Peter and Charles are both in Prague already (I am sure they are waiting for me to throw a party). Yeah, right.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, I did make it to the Hard Rock Cafe here in Dublin, too. Leave a comment...

As I mentioned in an earlier post a big part of our plans for Sprout is to move Peter, Chris, and me to Prague for a year. Well, I was the first to arrive in the city last night. I think Peter is already at the airport and Chris is not too far behind.

Prague is so beautiful! I had a lot of fun walking around this morning trying to find a place to eat and a place to buy a SIM card for my cell phone. Oddly enough, it was easier to find a mobile phone store than it was to find a place that served good expresso. Anyone know of a place in Vinohrady? Anyone? I guess I’ll have to go ask the hotel clerk.

Anyway, one interesting challenge of this trip has been trying to keep working while traveling. Practically everything I do anymore is on the Internet, which means I need access to work. Thankfully, this has been pretty easy. God bless T-mobile. When I came over, I was able to hop onto one of any number of hotspots using my T-mobile account from the US. Now that I have T-mobile in the Czech Republic, I’m paying about half the rate.

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I was amazed with the common attitude of New Yorkers today. 4 years later. NYC seems to be back on its feet, ready to take on whatever life brings. Here is what the USA Today said about it.

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As I was waiting for my broadway show to begin, SpamAlot, I decided to go have a bite to eat at the good old Hard Rock Cafe on Broadway. I have always been a fan of HRC and I must admit that I collect key chains from all of the HRCs that I visit (around 40 now, and my favorite is Seoul, Korea). Why? Well, I guess that I have always enjoyed the experience. Each HRC is the same, but uniquely different.

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I was reading a post on the Church of the Customer and it struck a sensitive cord with me. The post was titled, This Is The Way It Is Done Here, and was another example of poor customer care. I could talk for days but if you will just indulge me for a second and read this story I would appreciate it.

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Over the last few days I have been running around the BiG Apple looking for something to do (something that doesn’t cost $100). I visited a few bookstores with a real temptation to purchase a few, when my wheels started spinning. What if…I know it sounds crazy…could I possibly….write a book?

So, I consulted my uncle and his friend (he his rather traveled and is currently working on his PhD dissertation) about this crazy idea. They actually liked it!

But what is this idea? Well, it is in the works, but this is what I have so far. The BiG Act; How we re-wrote the rules of business. It will show people, preferably young adults, how to use what they have to think outside of the box when it comes to business.

Well, what do you think? Let me know if you have any ideas on what the book should be about.

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Well, I’m posting this blog entry from Scotland where I am staying for a few days on my way to Prague. Peter, Chris and I all go to Prague next week. I plan on picking up the keys to our flat/office on Monday. Meanwhile, Chris is in NY and Peter’s in Minnesota, so blogging might be a little sparse for a few days. But I’ll do my best.

One thing I’m amazed at is how much easier it is to get Internet in the EU these days compared to just four years ago when I did study abroad in Italy and France. I think we as a world of high tech have really learned the art of building technologies that can be rapidly deployed.

Four years ago, broadband internet that I could use on my laptop was hard to find if you weren’t renting a place and wifi wasn’t even on the radar. Now, I’ve been in the UK for less than 12 hours and I’ve already been on three hotspots and I know of two or three available in Prague. Not bad for less than half a decade.

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Choonkeat (Rssfwd’s developer) says on his blog:

“RssFwd will always maintain its non-intrusive nature. It will always be about the publisher and the reader. RssFwd will never be about RssFwd.”

This is why we love Rssfwd. Its helps you connect with your readers and stays out of the way. That is how it should be.

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You heard it here first: starting today, Sproutit.com is sponsoring the excellent email subscription service rssfwd.

With all the talk about RSS and how its changing the world, its easy to forget that most people still don’t know what RSS is. In fact, Nielsen//NetRatings recently announced that only 11% of regular blog readers use RSS to keep track of updates to blogs they read. That means that if you publish with RSS alone, 90% of your readers will never know when you add a new post to your site. 90%!

So if you really want to make your blog sticky or viral or whatever, you need to make sure you’re reaching this other 90%. Thankfully, its easy to do this with Rssfwd. Rssfwd is an email subscription service. It works just like RSS except subscribers receive an email instead of an updated feed.

The best thing about Rssfwd, though is that it respects the fact that your readers are your own. The emails are clean and simple and, most importantly, rssfwd has no user accounts! Your readers are your own. They will barely even see rssfwd and, in the future, they will never have to visit the rssfwd site at all.

So if you are leaving the 90% of your readers who don’t use RSS out in the cold, go visit the rssfwd publishers page right now and copy the code there onto your sidebar. Its really easy, simple and FREE so what are you waiting for?

Update: Thanks also to choonkeat, the creator of rssfwd for his excellent work. We are really excited about helping him host rssfwd and promote the importance of email subscriptions for blogs.

Update 2: If you want to see what its like to use rssfwd, try signing up for this site. Click on the “Get new posts by email” link to your left.

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So Microsoft is kicking off a new push into mid-size and small-company business software. Their solution is to create a complete integrated system that they can sell you, complete with preconfigured “company roles” and simplified “license acquisition and management.

Here’s a hint: small companies are different from big companies. They lead a different kind of life. Different things keep them up at night. They buy like consumers. They need a completely new kind of solution. You can’t just scale down a big app. If you even have to say the words “license acquisition and management” you’ve already lost the market.

Lots of other big enterprise people (Oracly and SAP for example) have tried this and aren’t having much success either.

The next generation of business software, the kind that helps small businesses succeed, isn’t going to come from these guys. Its going to come from disruptive little companies with entirely new types of products. Like 37signals and Blinksale, and Sproutit.com.

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Well, I have been unplugged for the last week in Colorado at our family cabins (oldest one built in 1895!). So, I am going to play a little catch up. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the family cabins this year, but oddly enough, I began to wonder “why?” Well, my time up there is completely seemless. Everything we do is rustic. No phone, internet, TV, radio and no computers. Chop wood for the fireplace (and the old wood-burning stove), wash dishes by hand, take a bath in the creek, and fish for dinner. The theme of the cabins is to relax in a rustic lifestyle.

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In about a day I will be on a plane headed to the UK and then on to Prague. Peter and Chris will follow next Monday and Tuesday. Our new Mac mini and printer/fax is already there waiting for us along with the keys to our new apartment The “Prague Phase” for Sproutit.com is about to begin.

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Jason Fried and 37signals are real trendsetters in the world of simple online web apps. Now Jason talks a bit about how they have achieved in this success in an interview on workhappy.net. Jason claims they’ve basically done no marketing as such. Don’t believe him. Intentionally or not, 37signals has had some really well executed marketing from day one. Any company wanting to mimic their success should learn from their example.

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Seth just released a followup to his first ebook, Knock Knock called Who’s There and we are hosting a copy of it also. As usual, its an easy read with great insight.

Download Who’s There

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Jeff Cornwall at The Entrepreneurial Mind talks about the places with the lowest Cost of doing Business, including a list of the lowest and highest cost places in the US. Of course, if you’re starting a business on the internet you could do what we are doing now and move to Prague.

Prague is a great place to start a business. Not only does it cost less to live there than most major US cities, you can live like a king. We are renting a 4 bedroom place in the heart of the city for less than Chris was paying for a two bedroom place in the suburban part of San Diego. We don’t need cars and we can take a European vacation every weekend if we want. What more could you want?

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Since this blog is about the upcoming launch of Sproutit.com, I thought some of you might like a little background into our history. Many people don’t yet know who we are, so I hope this post will act as a bit of an introduction.

Sproutit.com was started by three guys: Chris Bauman, Peter Gohman, and me, Charles Jolley. We all met at Point Loma Nazarene University, but were what you call “non-traditional” students…

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Seth Godin, famed marketing author, and a site we love, released his new e-book, Knock Knock for free the other day. We are hosting a copy here. Download it here if you want it.

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Hello! And welcome to the Big Act, a new blog by the folks at Sproutit.com.

We will be using this blog to post some updates on Sproutit as we get our new company and product up and running along with interesting links, commentary and other ramblings that give some insight into the motivation behind our little adventure here.

If you want to keep up with our story, subscribe to our rss feed.

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