November 28, 2024

You are here: Home / Archives for Small Business

You’re the Boss Blog: Finding Alternatives to Building a Web Site

June 7, 2013 by Leave a Comment

On Social Media

Generating revenue along with the buzz.

Over my last two columns, I’ve discussed how not to hire a Web developer and how to build a Website you love. But for some small businesses, there are other options — alternatives to building or refreshing a Web site.

One option is a one-page site. This is a specialty of Carbonsquare, a design shop that builds business sites of up to 10 pages using customized templates on the Webbly platform. One of Carbonsquare’s clients is a fashion-accessories retailer, Debra Wood, who has a mobile fashion boutique, DebiFashion. Ms. Wood decided a one-page site worked best for her side business. “It was so much work to constantly change my shopping-cart Web site, so for a $249 investment, I can make the changes I want and not brake the bank,” she said.

For a basic 10-page site, Carbonsquare charges $549 plus a monthly hosting and maintenance fee that runs about $30. “We decided to use the Webbly system because it’s a simple drag-and-drop system,” said Christopher Rippie, founder of Carbonsquare. “We want to help our customers understand smart design. Too many people over-design their Web sites. We did not use the WordPress platform, because it takes more time to build a Web site, which drives the cost up. We are trying to eliminate the sticker shock in Web site design and give people something they can manage themselves after we build it.”

Carbonsquare does have some drawbacks. WordPress plug-ins won’t work with the Webbly platform, search-engine optimization functionality is not built in the way it is with WordPress, and if you are blogging heavily, the system has limitations. Mr. Rippie suggests building a blog in WordPress and integrating it with the Webbly Web site.

Another option is to use Tumblr, a very easy-to-use blogging platform, as your Web site. With more than 100 million bloggers, Tumblr has an active community of users who search for content based on keyword tags. This can make it easier to build an audience quickly. It allows users to post text, photos, quotes, links, music and videos from a desktop or phone and from a  browser or through e-mail. A Tumblr page works best for visual businesses, such as retail, design, food, or fashion. Some small businesses use Tumblr in addition to a WordPress blog. Tumblr allows owners to link back to e-commerce sites with coupon codes, QR codes and links to other social media accounts. Its templates are easy to use and there’s nothing to download to get started.

Diane Souter of Absolutely Fabulous Unique Gifts and Décor in Huntington Beach, Calif., uses a Tumblr page to highlight her latest products and attract a younger audience. “Tumblr is so easy to do that I could do it,” she said. “I’m able to take a photo with my iPhone and upload it to Tumblr with the hashtags and keywords, within seconds literally, and it links to my Web site.”

Ms. Souter said that while the traffic from Tumblr leads to some sales, it mainly drives buzz. “It would be great if people could click on the picture and the price comes up with the ability to make a purchase through Tumblr,” she said. That might be a way Yahoo will attempt to monetize the site, now that it has bought it for more than $1 billion.

Three months ago, Innate Family Chiropractic, based in Pasadena, Calif., started using RebelMouse to host its Web site. RebelMouse allows companies to display the latest updates on their social media accounts on the company home page; in fact, those updates can be the homepage or they can an embedded addition. Users can customize a RebelMouse site or choose from previously designed theme pages. They can also post a full-text blog post directly to RebelMouse and then add an image or a video. And they can add RSS feeds from their own blog or from other blogs they read frequently.

Paul Berry, former chief technology officer of Huffington Post, says he created RebelMouse to save small-business owners time and frustration. “We just so saw so many people struggle with their Web site almost to the point of giving up,” he said. “We knew there was a simple solution that didn’t involve developers or designers. We wanted to make people’s content shine and amplify their social media efforts.” The service costs $10 a month and integrates seamlessly with MailChimp, the e-mail service.

Innate Family Chiropractic picked RebelMouse to save time with its Web marketing and because it wanted a central place to share content on pediatric chiropractic care. The three-year-old family wellness and chiropractic center uses Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest to share and generate health-related tips and articles. “I used to spend so much time educating clients and putting our content on all our social media accounts,” said Christopher Vargas, a chiropractor and owner of Innate Family. “Plugging everything into RebelMouse just made things easier.” The company pays $19.99 a month to use the service on two Web sites.

Melinda Emerson is founder and chief executive of Quintessence Multimedia, a social media strategy and content development company. You can follow her on Twitter.

Article source: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/07/finding-alternatives-to-building-a-web-site/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Small Business Tagged With: , ,

You’re the Boss Blog: Why the Tumblr Deal Is a Disaster for Entrepreneurs

June 6, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The Next Level

Avoiding the pitfalls of fast growth.

I have never met a fast-growth entrepreneur that I did not like. Sure, some are weird and scary smart, but what I like about fast-growth entrepreneurs is that most have a riverboat gambling streak that makes them fun, free and a little different from most small-business and corporate types.

While many in business live in horror that they could lose it all tomorrow, fast-growth entrepreneurs are always doubling down. Why? Because they believe their “jackpot” is just around the corner. Their stuff is so good that somebody is going to come along and offer them a price that is far more than the company is worth. Too often, the jackpot never comes, but the entrepreneurs buckle down and make the company work — with increased revenue, profit and market share.

And eventually, the fast-growth entrepreneurs comes to realize three things: This fast-growth thing is harder than we thought it would be. Getting liquid and selling the business will take a little longer than we thought it would take. And every time we try to take a shortcut, it absolutely kills us. The riverboat gambler transforms into a true business leader and capitalism works. And then just when we think we have it all figured out, some fast-growth fallacy like Tumblr comes along — with little revenue and lots of expenses — and hits the one-in-a-million jackpot with a billion-dollar buyout that seems to redefine what fast-growth success means.

To my mind, a lot of people are missing the point when they talk about whether Tumblr is worth $1 billion price tag Yahoo! is paying. I will leave that question for others to decide, but I do know this: The deal is a disaster for fast-growth companies because it tells entrepreneurs to be gamblers rather than leaders. In fact, I think the deal is bad for American business, period, and I fear we may have three to five years of Tumblr silliness in the market as a result.

Let’s first give Tumblr its due. It is the Ferrari of Web platforms. The sleek and fast upstart created a Web community where every blogger can write and ride in a style that says, “I am important, too.” Don’t laugh. Remember Mary Kay said she built a cosmetics empire by telling housewives they were important — but she did not give away the makeup. She sold it for cash. Tumblr has yet to figure that part out.

And that’s why the deal is a disaster for entrepreneurship and emerging companies. In the short term, Tumblr has redefined what success means for technology companies: sleek, cool, and nonpaying users are more important than revenue and profit. All of a sudden, success is no longer the moment when an emerging company crosses the financial threshold to where cash flow, margins, and market share increase and incremental expenses decrease. Tumblr’s way is a lot easier. It will not stand the test of time, but for now, every upstart technology chief executive is going to try to win the next lottery the way Tumblr did. And about 99 percent will fail.

I am not opposed to jackpots. And I have no doubt that Tumblr’s team worked extremely hard, and for building a great site with cool design and 100 million users, they deserve a big reward. But $1 billion stops everybody in their tracks and says, “Let’s do it the Tumblr way.”

Of course, Tumblr supporters will say, “What about the potential ad revenue with 100 million users?” Well, there is a reason it’s not going to work. It would be the equivalent of covering a Ferrari with an ad wrap. You would no longer have a Ferrari, and if you insert ads, Tumblr will no longer be cool. Fast-growth entrepreneurs should pay as much attention to the Tumblr deal as we do to last week’s lottery winner.

Cliff Oxford is the founder of the Oxford Center for Entrepreneurs. You can follow him on Twitter.

Article source: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/06/why-the-tumblr-deal-is-a-disaster-for-entrepreneurs/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Small Business Tagged With: , ,

Case Study: An Entrepreneur Chooses Potential Growth Over Proven Profits

June 5, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Aseem Badshah has to decide which promising start-up to pursue.Matthew Ryan Williams for The New York Times Aseem Badshah has to decide which promising start-up to pursue.

Case Study

What would you do with this business?

Last week, we published a case study about a young entrepreneur in Seattle, Aseem Badshah, who has been deciding how to divide his time and attention between two ventures.

His first business, Uptown Treehouse, creates online marketing campaigns to promote products for companies. Three years old, it earns an annual profit of more than $300,000 on annual revenue of $1.3 million. His new business, Socedo, scans social media and other Web sites to find sales leads for clients. Two hundred companies are already using a test version of the software, and Mr. Badshah has received positive feedback on it.

Now he needs to decide if he should spend all of his time on one of the businesses or split his time between the two. In last week’s article, we asked three experts to offer opinions, and they all gave different advice.

Dan J. Cunningham, chief executive of the Business Ferret, a financial and cash flow analysis consulting firm, suggested a conservative route, noting that Uptown Treehouse’s profits were established and healthy, while the risk of the new venture could leave Mr. Badshah with nothing. Steve Blank, an associate professor at Stanford University and co-author of “The Startup Owner’s Manual,” told Mr. Badshah to stick with one business or the other and put all his energies into it. Fred Dewey, a former chief executive of Kachingle and a co-founder and a partner at  Emotional Intelligence at Work, recommended that Mr. Badshah divide his time between the two businesses.

Many readers agreed with Mr. Dewey. They said that finding a good team to run Uptown Treehouse and focusing there only when needed would help Mr. Badshah grow as a manager. Others pointed out that having a source of capital (Uptown Treehouse) for the new start-up (Socedo) was a rare luxury for an entrepreneur and could help Mr. Badshah negotiate from a stronger position with outside investors. And at only 24 years old, readers commented, Mr. Badshah has plenty of time to learn and try again if things don’t work out.

We contacted Mr. Badshah for a follow-up conversation that has been condensed and edited.

The three experts pointed you in different directions.

It was interesting that each of the three gave me completely different things to think about. That makes me think there is no right answer, and I should do what I believe is best in my particular situation.

What did you take from the reader comments?

There were a lot of different opinions, but no one said I should stop pursuing Socedo, even though it is a risky start-up. I felt a lot of encouragement from people telling me to “Go for it!” and to pursue what I was most excited about.

Does that mean you will try to keep both businesses going?

Yes, I am going to keep both but pause the search for Socedo funding. I had been flying around making presentations to outside investors, but I think my time is best spent working on the business itself and giving my energy to that. The Uptown Treehouse profits mean we don’t need outside money yet if we can operate in a really slim, low cost way. Plus, from initial feedback, we felt that we could get a better valuation later if we continued to leverage the Uptown Treehouse income to achieve more traction milestones with Socedo.

Can you do both?

I do have a strong team in Los Angeles led by my manager, Dillon Bianchi, and over the past six months they have brought on new clients and have continued to grow existing accounts while I have focused on Socedo. They have given me confidence that they can flourish without me and that I am doing the right thing by placing my confidence in them and pursuing both businesses.

Are there any synergies between the businesses?

Yes. The products of the two companies work together — one helps with sales and the other with marketing, so they are related. Lessons one team learns on what works or doesn’t work can help the other team. Also, when I do go to raise funds for Socedo, the fact that I have a proven business that has been running successfully for a few years helps my credibility as a C.E.O.

This post has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: June 5, 2013

An earlier version of this article misstated the title of Fred Dewey at Emotional Intelligence at Work. He is a co-founder and a partner, not the chief executive.

Article source: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/05/an-entrepreneur-chooses-potential-growth-over-proven-profits/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Small Business Tagged With: , ,

Today’s Question: Can a Shaving Company Produce Another Viral Video?

June 5, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Today’s Question

What small-business owners think.

We recently published a small-business conversation with Michael Dubin in which he talked about how he had introduced his company, Dollar Shave Club, with a funny video that went viral — and how he was trying to build on the success of that video to create a full-fledged lifestyle brand.

Mr. Dubin, who used to perform improvisational comedy as a hobby and whose company now boasts some 200,000 active customers, has just released another video for another new product: hygienic wipes for men.

The video, which features the same off-color brand of humor as the original video, touts the benefits of using wipes in lieu of toilet paper. Offered under the name One Wipe Charlies, the flushable wipes are made with aloe and marshmallow herb and, like the razors Mr. Dubin introduced in his first video, they will be sold on a subscription basis (a pack of 40 for $4). The wipes are the fifth product offered by Dollar Shave, following three varieties of razor blades and a shave butter that has sold 20,000 units since its debut in April.

We spoke with Mr. Dubin, in a conversation that has been edited and condensed, about the thinking behind the new product and the new video.

Why wipes?

Because our research found that 51 percent of guys use butt wipes, but 24 percent of them are embarrassed and hide it from view. It’s a huge opportunity because toilet paper is a $9-billion industry compared to shaving, which is $6 billion. It’s also a bold statement that says Dollar Shave Club wants to service everything from your face to your …

Why did you wait so long to make another video?

The reason we held off was because no video could tell the story of Dollar Shave Club like that first one. I felt that launching anything else would become a distraction. But we have a bold multiproduct strategy, and we’re excited to have this video tout a useful product that makes your life better in the bathroom.

Are you watching the number of hits it generates?

We do have a traffic monitor set up, but it’s more about the product than the video.

Why did you decide to feature the wipes — instead of your other new products — in the video?

We wanted to make a bold statement. I think it’s important to let people know where we are headed, and the video is a great way to tell that story. We’re great at starting conversations, and I think we’re going to spark a national dialog about what’s going on in the bathroom and how to do it better.

Article source: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/04/can-a-shaving-company-produce-another-viral-video/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Small Business Tagged With: , ,

You’re the Boss Blog: Trying to Take the Sting Out of a Price Increase

June 5, 2013 by Leave a Comment
She Owns It

Portraits of women entrepreneurs.

Susan Parker, owner of Bari Jay.Suzanne DeChillo/The New York Times Susan Parker, owner of Bari Jay.

At the last She Owns It Business Group meeting, the owners talked about several pricing issues. Susan Parker, who owns Bari Jay, recently discovered that customers react not only to a price increase but also to the way it is presented. When she learned her factories were raising her prices, she thought she would pass along a 10-percent-per-dress increase to all of customers. But then she had another idea.

Bari Jay customers who paid their invoices within 30 days had been receiving an 8 percent discount. Rather than increasing dress prices for all customers, Ms. Parker decided to discontinue the discount. This seemed like a good idea because it would affect fewer accounts, and the timely payers would still end up paying less than they would if she increased prices 10 percent across the board. But when customers learned they would be losing their discount for prompt payment, they were angry and confused, Ms. Parker said.

“I could see that,” said the group member Alexandra Mayzler, who owns Thinking Caps Group. “I’d feel like I’d been being so good, paying early, and you’re taking that opportunity away from me.”

With hindsight, Ms. Parker realized where Bari Jay went wrong. When she and her sister sent letters to the discount recipients, they said simply that Bari Jay was eliminating the 8 percent discount. The news might have been better received had they stressed that the discontinuation was in lieu of a 10 percent increase. “We only gave them the negative without giving them the positive, so the perception was that we’re taking something away,” she said.

“I think understanding that these things are going to happen, and building contingencies into your contracts — if you have a contract-type business — helps,” said Jessica Johnson, owner of Johnson Security Bureau.

Shifting gears, Ms. Parker said Bari Jay’s biggest pricing challenges are in Europe and Australia. While the company sells directly to stores in the United States, it sells through distributors in Europe and Australia, and the relationships with those distributors were in place before Ms. Parker and her sister took over the company. 

Recently, Ms. Parker’s Australian distributor claimed it could increase Bari Jay’s business if it received a bigger discount. Ms. Parker said she was glad to offer one given the promise of more sales. But Bari Jay found that the change resulted in a decline in revenue. “The distributor must have made more money but it came from our pockets, not from increased sales,” she said.

Ms. Parker had agreed to offer the bigger discount for a trial period that ended about six months ago. But because Bari Jay didn’t speak up when the trial ended, Ms. Parker said she and her sister now feel stuck with the discount.

“Did they know it was a trial period?” asked Deirdre Lord, who owns the Megawatt Hour.

“They did,” Ms. Parker replied. Sometimes, she added, she wonders whether she and her sister are “suckers.” She said they walked into a meeting with the distributor saying, “We’re going back to our original discount.” But they found neither of them had the nerve to push for the result they wanted.

“Are you afraid that they’re going to stop carrying your line?” Ms. Lord asked.

Ms. Parker doesn’t think that would happen — it doesn’t cost the distributor all that much to keep the line. But she said she has learned from her experiences with stores in the United States that they seem to promote the lines of their favorites. So, she said, she is wary of becoming “the person they don’t love dealing with.” Already, Ms. Parker suspects her Australian distributor isn’t promoting Bari Jay as much as it does other lines. For example, she said the distributor advertises other lines in all four issues of Australia’s leading bridal magazine but only advertises Bari Jay in two issues.

Ms. Lord said it sounds like Bari Jay may have a marketing issue, not a pricing one. That is, it’s not Bari Jay’s prices that are affecting sales, but the way in which the distributor is marketing the company’s dresses.

In Europe, Bari Jay’s distributor claims he needs a bigger discount to improve sales, which have fallen significantly. Ms. Parker is considering offering a discount that incorporates a minimum order. But she’s not sure. “If I do this and it doesn’t work, well then how do you renege?” she asked.

Why wouldn’t Ms. Parker just conclude that Europe isn’t her market? Ms. Mayzler asked. “You don’t want to have a price that’s not actually working,” she said.

But Ms. Parker stressed that Bari Jay has been successful there. At their peak, she said European annual sales were about $500,000, or one-fourteenth of Bari Jay’s revenue — with minimal labor costs. The dresses ship directly from Asia, at the distributor’s expense, so Bari Jay isn’t responsible for packing and unpacking. She said her labor is basically limited to order entry and invoicing. “So, it’s mostly profit,” she said. But now, European sales are close to zero — not profitable at any cost.

“What happened?” Ms. Mayzler asked.

“Europe keeps saying the market changed,” Ms. Parker said. She acknowledged that the region’s economic woes aren’t helping. But she suspects other issues are at play. She recently learned the distributor buys all of his other lines directly from factories, not retailers like Bari Jay, which mark up the factory’s price. “I can’t compete when he’s getting direct from a factory and I’m a middle man,” Ms. Parker said. “He’s selling my dresses next to a dress for half the price.”

Ms. Mayzler suggested that the problem is the distributor, not the discount amount. Ms. Parker acknowledged she is searching for a new European distributor. But until she finds one, she said she would like to see at least some European business. A bigger discount may offer her current distributor an incentive.

“Dare I say it’s not worth being in Europe?” Ms. Lord asked.

“It is though, because I can do half a million dollars, why wouldn’t I want that?” Ms. Parker replied.

“It depends how much it costs you,” Ms. Mayzler said.

You can follow Adriana Gardella on Twitter.

Article source: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/05/trying-to-take-the-sting-out-of-a-price-increase/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Small Business Tagged With: , ,

Start: Change.org Merges Old-School Advocacy With Social Media

June 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment

“We aren’t in the business of optimizing and maximizing profits,” Ben Rattray said. “We’re in the business of impact.”Bryan Thomas for The New York Times “We aren’t in the business of optimizing and maximizing profits,” Ben Rattray said. “We’re in the business of impact.”

Start

The adventure of new ventures.

When Benjamin O’Keefe read the words of Abercrombie Fitch’s chief executive, Mike Jeffries, suggesting that the retailer wanted its clothes worn only by thin, attractive “cool kids,” he wasn’t happy. Mr. O’Keefe, 18, struggled with weight issues in middle and high school and felt compelled to speak out. He created a petition on the Web site Change.org, encouraging Mr. Jeffries to sell clothes to people of all sizes. That was on May 8; the petition has now attracted more than 75,000 signatures.

One of the people who heard about the petition was Greg Karber, a Los Angeles filmmaker. Five days after the petition went up, Mr. Karber posted a video about Mr. Jeffries’ comments on YouTube.  On May 15, a vague apology appeared on Abercrombie Fitch’s Facebook page, and a week later, Mr. Jeffries met with Mr. O’Keefe. Afterward, the company issued a statement saying it would continue the dialogue and take “concrete steps” to support anti-bullying, diversity and inclusion.

This is just the kind of thing Ben Rattray says he was hoping for when he started Change.org in 2007. The idea behind it began percolating when he was a senior at Stanford in the late 1990s, studying economics and intent on a career in investment banking. While he was home for winter break, his brother, Nick, who was in high school at the time, told his family and friends he was gay. “Before he came out,” Mr. Rattray said, “Nick saw lots of homophobia and bullying, all these insulting comments made, but his friends didn’t stand up for the L.G.B.T. community, no one spoke out. And it was so painful for him, seeing people he loved not saying anything against all this hate.”

It was a pivotal moment for Ben. That conversation began his transformation, he said, from wanting to be in finance to wanting a career that revolved around social change, “enabling people to speak out for issues they care about.” He thought he would do that by studying public interest law at New York University — and then he saw Facebook. “I saw the potential power of that technology to connect people around issues of common interest,” he said.

Mr. Rattray ditched law school and wrote a 90-page business plan for Change.org and then introduced the site with a college friend, Mark Dimas. They wanted it to provide tools for social organizing and fund-raising and tried a number of approaches, including virtual political action committees, skills-based volunteerism, social fundraising and personal pledges. It turned out the simplest tool, the petition, worked best. “This merging of old-school advocacy with social media made the petition much more effective,” Mr. Rattray said.

Today, the company has 170 employees in 18 countries and is growing faster outside the United States than in it, with two million new international users each month. Last year, revenue was $15 million, which came from sponsored petitions, started and paid for by businesses and organizations. These are usually nonprofit, political and charitable organizations, although the site will accept sponsored petitions from any business or organization.

About a month ago, the site made promoted petitions available to its users worldwide. Promoted petitions allow individuals to pay to get a petition in front of Change.org’s 38 million users. The more a signer pays, the greater the number of users who will see the petition. For example, it costs $10 to promote a petition to 50 users, $100 for 500 users. The average contribution is about $19, and there is a $1,000 cap. Mr. Rattray projects that by year’s end, 10 percent of Change.org’s revenue will come from promoted petitions.

Last month, Change.org also secured a $15 million round of investment led by the philanthropic investment firm Omidyar Network. Mr. Rattray has declined to take traditional venture capital because there are few venture capitalists willing to accept his terms: he says he will never sell the company, go public or cede control. “We aren’t in the business of optimizing and maximizing profits,” he said. “We’re in the business of impact.”

The company has been certified as a B Corporation by the nonprofit B Lab, a certification available to for-profit companies that pass B Lab’s B Impact Assessment, which shows a company meets certain standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency. Mr. Rattray says he would ultimately like to incorporate as a benefit corporation, which is a legal status akin to a C corporation, S corporation or L.L.C. He can’t do so because Change.org is incorporated in Delaware and that state has yet to pass legislation to allow companies to incorporate as benefit corporations. “We operate as if we were incorporated that way anyway,” Mr. Rattray said. “We respect the interests not just of shareholders but of stakeholders too.”

Those stakeholders include people like Mr. O’Keefe, the Abercrombie Fitch petitioner,  and Bo Muller-Moore, a folk artist in Montpelier, Vt. Mr. Muller-Moore’s T-shirt company sells custom-designed, hand-printed T-shirts bearing the slogan “Eat More Kale.” In 2011, when Mr. Muller-Moore decided to register the slogan for a federal trademark, the fast food chain Chick-fil-A opposed him, maintaining it was too similar to its “Eat mor chikin” slogan. (Chick-fil-A declined to comment for this post).

In September, a friend of Mr. Muller-Moore’s started a petition against Chick-fil-A on Change.org. Today the petition has 41,000 signatures and has garnered press attention and support from Vermont’s governor, Peter Shumlin. Although Chick-fil-A has not stopped its efforts to block Mr. Muller-Moore’s trademark, the petition has been a boon for his business — after an Associated Press article appeared about the petition and was picked up by Yahoo, the Eat More Kale site went from 350 visitors a day to 27,500 visitors and stayed that way for three weeks.

Mr. Rattray says he wants to enable Change.org’s users to develop ongoing campaigns that have the power to shift public policy and corporate behavior over time. “The question is: How do we turn these remarkable, momentary victories into longer-term social movements?” he said. “We are focused on building tools to enable that.”

You can follow Eilene Zimmerman on Twitter.

Article source: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/04/change-org-merges-old-school-advocacy-with-social-media/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Small Business Tagged With: , ,

You’re the Boss Blog: Can a Shaving Company Produce Another Viral Video?

June 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Today’s Question

What small-business owners think.

We recently published a small-business conversation with Michael Dubin in which he talked about how he had introduced his company, Dollar Shave Club, with a funny video that went viral — and how he was trying to build on the success of that video to create a full-fledged lifestyle brand.

Mr. Dubin, who used to perform improvisational comedy as a hobby and whose company now boasts some 200,000 active customers, has just released another video for another new product: hygienic wipes for men.

The video, which features the same off-color brand of humor as the original video, touts the benefits of using wipes in lieu of toilet paper. Offered under the name One Wipe Charlies, the flushable wipes are made with aloe and marshmallow herb and, like the razors Mr. Dubin introduced in his first video, they are being sold on a subscription basis (a pack of 40 for $4). The wipes are the fifth product offered by Dollar Shave, following three varieties of razor blades and a shave butter that has sold 20,000 units since its debut in April.

We spoke with Mr. Dubin, in a conversation that has been edited and condensed, about the thinking behind the new product and the new video.

Why wipes?

Because our research found that 51 percent of guys use butt wipes, but 24 percent of them are embarrassed and hide it from view. It’s a huge opportunity because toilet paper is a $9-billion industry compared to shaving, which is $6 billion. It’s also a bold statement that says Dollar Shave Club wants to service everything from your face to your …

Why did you wait so long to make another video?

The reason we held off was because no video could tell the story of Dollar Shave Club like that first one. I felt that launching anything else would become a distraction. But we have a bold multiproduct strategy, and we’re excited to have this video tout a useful product that makes your life better in the bathroom.

Are you watching the number of hits it generates?

We do have a traffic monitor set up, but it’s more about the product than the video.

Why did you decide to feature the wipes — instead of your other new products — in the video?

We wanted to make a bold statement. I think it’s important to let people know where we are headed, and the video is a great way to tell that story. We’re great at starting conversations, and I think we’re going to spark a national dialog about what’s going on in the bathroom and how to do it better.

Article source: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/04/can-a-shaving-company-produce-another-viral-video/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Small Business Tagged With: , ,

You’re the Boss Blog: Change.org Merges Old-School Advocacy With Social Media

June 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment

“We aren’t in the business of optimizing and maximizing profits,” Mr. Rattray said. “We’re in the business of impact.”Bryan Thomas for The New York Times “We aren’t in the business of optimizing and maximizing profits,” Mr. Rattray said. “We’re in the business of impact.”

Start

The adventure of new ventures.

When Benjamin O’Keefe read the words of Abercrombie Fitch’s chief executive, Mike Jeffries, suggesting that the retailer wanted its clothes worn only by thin, attractive “cool kids,” he wasn’t happy. Mr. O’Keefe, 18, struggled with weight issues in middle and high school and felt compelled to speak out. He created a petition on the Web site Change.org, encouraging Mr. Jeffries to sell clothes to people of all sizes. That was on May 8; the petition has now attracted more than 75,000 signatures.

One of the people who heard about the petition was Greg Karber, a Los Angeles filmmaker. Five days after the petition went up, Mr. Karber posted a video about Mr. Jeffries’ comments on YouTube.  On May 15, a vague apology appeared on Abercrombie Fitch’s Facebook page, and a week later, Mr. Jeffries met with Mr. O’Keefe. Afterward, the company issued a statement saying it would continue the dialogue and take “concrete steps” to support anti-bullying, diversity and inclusion.

This is just the kind of thing Ben Rattray says he was hoping for when he started Change.org in 2007. The idea behind it began percolating when he was a senior at Stanford in the late 1990s, studying economics and intent on a career in investment banking. While he was home for winter break, his brother, Nick, who was in high school at the time, told his family and friends he was gay. “Before he came out,” Mr. Rattray said, “Nick saw lots of homophobia and bullying, all these insulting comments made, but his friends didn’t stand up for the L.G.B.T. community, no one spoke out. And it was so painful for him, seeing people he loved not saying anything against all this hate.”

It was a pivotal moment for Ben. That conversation began his transformation, he said, from wanting to be in finance to wanting a career that revolved around social change, “enabling people to speak out for issues they care about.” He thought he would do that by studying public interest law at New York University — and then he saw Facebook. “I saw the potential power of that technology to connect people around issues of common interest,” he said.

Mr. Rattray ditched law school and wrote a 90-page business plan for Change.org and then introduced the site with a college friend, Mark Dimas. They wanted it to provide tools for social organizing and fund-raising and tried a number of approaches, including virtual political action committees, skills-based volunteerism, social fundraising and personal pledges. It turned out the simplest tool, the petition, worked best. “This merging of old-school advocacy with social media made the petition much more effective,” Mr. Rattray said.

Today, the company has 170 employees in 18 countries and is growing faster outside the United States than in it, with two million new international users each month. Last year, revenue was $15 million, which came from sponsored petitions, started and paid for by businesses and organizations. These are usually nonprofit, political and charitable organizations, although the site will accept sponsored petitions from any business or organization.

About a month ago, the site made promoted petitions available to its users worldwide. Promoted petitions allow individuals to pay to get a petition in front of Change.org’s 38 million users. The more a signer pays, the greater the number of users who will see the petition. For example, it costs $10 to promote a petition to 50 users, $100 for 500 users. The average contribution is about $19, and there is a $1,000 cap. Mr. Rattray projects that by year’s end, 10 percent of Change.org’s revenue will come from promoted petitions.

Last month, Change.org also secured a $15 million round of investment led by the philanthropic investment firm Omidyar Network. Mr. Rattray has declined to take traditional venture capital because there are few venture capitalists willing to accept his terms: he says he will never sell the company, go public or cede control. “We aren’t in the business of optimizing and maximizing profits,” he said. “We’re in the business of impact.”

The company has been certified as a B Corporation by the nonprofit B Lab, a certification available to for-profit companies that pass B Lab’s B Impact Assessment, which shows a company meets certain standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency. Mr. Rattray says he would ultimately like to incorporate as a benefit corporation, which is a legal status akin to a C corporation, S corporation or L.L.C. He can’t do so because Change.org is incorporated in Delaware and that state has yet to pass legislation to allow companies to incorporate as benefit corporations. “We operate as if we were incorporated that way anyway,” Mr. Rattray said. “We respect the interests not just of shareholders but of stakeholders too.”

Those stakeholders include people like Mr. O’Keefe, the Abercrombie Fitch petitioner,  and Bo Muller-Moore, a folk artist in Montpelier, Vt. Mr. Muller-Moore’s T-shirt company sells custom-designed, hand-printed T-shirts bearing the slogan “Eat More Kale.” In 2011, when Mr. Muller-Moore decided to register the slogan for a federal trademark, the fast food chain Chick-fil-A opposed him, maintaining it was too similar to its “Eat mor chikin” slogan. (Chick-fil-A declined to comment for this post).

In September, a friend of Mr. Muller-Moore’s started a petition against Chick-fil-A on Change.org. Today the petition has 41,000 signatures and has garnered press attention and support from Vermont’s governor, Peter Shumlin. Although Chick-fil-A has not stopped its efforts to block Mr. Muller-Moore’s trademark, the petition has been a boon for his business — after an Associated Press article appeared about the petition and was picked up by Yahoo, the Eat More Kale site went from 350 visitors a day to 27,500 visitors and stayed that way for three weeks.

Mr. Rattray says he wants to enable Change.org’s users to develop ongoing campaigns that have the power to shift public policy and corporate behavior over time. “The question is: How do we turn these remarkable, momentary victories into longer-term social movements?” he said. “We are focused on building tools to enable that.”

You can follow Eilene Zimmerman on Twitter.

Article source: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/04/change-org-merges-old-school-advocacy-with-social-media/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Small Business Tagged With: , ,

You’re the Boss Blog: The Hidden Costs of Starting a Company

June 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Fashioning Change

A social entrepreneur tries to change the way people shop.

I was at a StartupsUncensored event some time ago where a speaker, Jason Nazar, the founder and chief executive of Docstoc, said: “You can have your start-up and one thing. You can have your start-up and your health. You can have your start-up and your family. Or you can have your start-up and your significant other, but you can’t have multiples. If you try to have multiples, you’ll be poor at all of them.”

I had never heard someone speak so candidly about the lack of work/life balance when it comes to start-ups. As we continue to build Fashioning Change, I am often reminded of his words. Since I started the company, managing interpersonal relationships with family, friends and a significant other has been really hard.

I’ve lost friends because they thought I was crazy to try to build my own company. It took my father a very long time to understand what I was doing. In fact, it wasn’t until Fashioning Change was featured in the December issue of Entrepreneur that he really expressed acceptance of what I had dedicated my life to do. I’ve been in relationships that ended because I was told I’m “too ambitious” or because the guy would make me feel guilty when I couldn’t drop what I was working on to grab dinner — or make dinner.

I’m a Type A personality. I’m competitive and driven. Because the landscape of “shopping for good” continues to grow with inauthentic voices and so-called greenwashers, I’m driven to work harder. Still, I’ve learned that working at 110 percent seven days a week isn’t sustainable and can even compromise what I create. And I have come into a place where I’m on a personal mission to create a more normal start-up work/life balance. Over the Memorial Day weekend, I spent my first weekend in almost three years with no access to a computer or phone.

And I’ve been chatting with other start-up friends, 99.9 percent of whom are men — I do wish there were more women starting companies. None of the men I spoke with have ever been told that they are “too ambitious,” but many expressed overlapping challenges that we all know are common in the start-up world: depression, reckless partying, drug abuse, drug addiction, frustration with family members who don’t accept their work habits, compromised health and failed marriages.

I have one friend whose former wife cheated on him, and he blames himself for working too much and tearing apart his family (they have two kids together). Much of what you see in the media tends to glamorize start-up life (“The Social Network” is a great example). Until recently, the toll taken by the start-up life has gotten little attention.

A friend of mine, Bobby Matson, founded Startups Anonymous with Diego Prats. They are both entrepreneurs who persevered over the challenges of a failed start-up. Startups Anonymous is a Web site that aims to help start-up founders and employees connect anonymously with serial entrepreneurs about the real challenges they face. After being live for just a few hours, the site had received more than 40 e-mails from founders all over the world eager to connect with someone — an indication of how many isolated people there are trying to figure out the challenges that come with building a start-up.

Have you thought about this, too? What have you given up for your start-up? Do you see it as sacrifice or as just part of what has to be done? Have you learned anything about managing your work/life balance?

Adriana Herrera is chief executive of Fashioning Change. You can e-mail her at adrianah@fashioningchange.com, and you can follow her on Twitter at @Adriana_Herrera.

Article source: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/03/the-hidden-costs-of-starting-a-company/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Small Business Tagged With: , ,

You’re the Boss Blog: This Week in Small Business: Healthier Owners

June 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment

What’s affecting me, my clients and other small-business owners this week.

Must-Reads

A proprietary trader and hedge fund manager explains the benefits of hiring good people instead of nice ones. Carl Bass distinguishes between the myths and the truths of 3-D printing. Working mothers are now the top earners in 40 percent of households with children. Carl McCoy advises college grads not to do what they love.

Economy: Give People Cash

Robert Frank explains why millionaires are still holding on to their money, and Chris Blattman suggests that to help the poor and transform the economy, governments should just give people cash. The economy grew at a modest 2.4 percent in the first quarter, and the global economy is advancing but the pace of recovery varies, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The expectations of chief financial officers rise. Joshua M. Brown welcomes the new RD (repurchases and dividends). More Americans are feeling the effects of sequestration. A Gallup survey finds that more small businesses are letting workers go than are hiring, and another survey from Sage finds that the majority of small and midsize businesses are not seeing enough demand to justify hiring. Anthony Ha, meanwhile, pokes fun at surveys.

Data: Healthier Owners?

Consumer confidence is the strongest in five years, home prices accelerated the most in seven years, and Jared Bernstein credits the Federal Reserve. But these charts show we’ve still got a long way to go to return to the levels of last decade. Banks report record earnings. Real median household incomes were up 0.5 percent in April. Christopher Drose offers the “real reason” inflation hasn’t hit, and Nathan Lewis suggests one thing “classical” economic thinkers agree about. A study finds small-business owners are living healthier.

Social Media: What’s New on Facebook

Research released by Microsoft dives into the raging debate over whether social tools like Twitter, Facebook, and Microsoft Lync belong in the business realm (Microsoft Lync?). Christopher Mims explains why Facebook’s stock is dropping. Jennifer Van Grove believes the hashtag symbol is Facebook’s “obvious hole.” Danielle Cormier suggests the best time for posting Facebook updates, and Jefferson Graham shares what’s new on Facebook for small businesses. A report says social media advertising is about to explode. Megan Bernstein has five tips for using social media in the real estate industry. Here are seven tips to improve your LinkedIn company page.

Marketing: A Marijuana Brand

Douglas A. McIntyre predicts these 10 brands will disappear by next year. Casey Newman says data is at the heart of marketing. Some savvy marketers are reaping benefits from an olive oil shortage. Evan Pennisi lists three reasons to attend an international trade show. Here is what Jon Stewart and “The Daily Show” can teach you about branding, and here are four small-business promotion ideas. An ex-Microsoft manager plans to create the first national brand of marijuana.

Cash Flow: Finding $10,000

A former baseball player is offering microloans to start-ups, and a new crowdfunding platform for young entrepreneurs focuses on education. What prosecutors call a $6 billion money-laundering scheme is uncovered. These are the basics of business leasing in 2013, and here is how to minimize expenses when shipping from China. A 10-year-old finds $10,000 in a hotel room. An accountant explains how to master the financial side of your business, and Jon Stow lists a few common purchasing mistakes.

People: Conflict Management

America is the only wealthy country that does not guarantee paid vacations or holidays. A Taco Bell job application spurs a Reddit debate. Greg Giesen says the fourth rule of conflict management is to take the initiative. A webcast this week explains how to create an exceptional workplace. Jessica Stillman says you will encounter problems if you squeeze employees too hard, and Amanda MacArthur offers five methods to improve employee loyalty and reduce turnover. Executives at small companies say they give their staffs enough recognition. Jimmy Fallon introduces the “Game of Desks.”

Entrepreneurs: 27 Books

Martin Zwilling explains why technologists need to team up with an entrepreneur. Eric Tyler discusses the momentum behind the social entrepreneur movement, and here are five examples of great social franchises. A modern-day Robin Hood applies his business skills to philanthropy. Melissa Anders reports on an age group that is starting new businesses. Here are 27 books every entrepreneur should read. These three businesses go together like peas in a pod.

Retail: Angry Customers Do You a Favor

Some retailers in the United States are starting to communicate with shoppers through a smartphone app that uses in-store sensors to track location in the shop and send personalized offers and recommendations. After decades of decline, independent bookselling has become a growth industry. Here’s how to find the perfect space for a pop-up store. George Rodriguez lists 10 ways small businesses can compete with the big boys. Andy Sernovitz shares tips for dealing with angry customers, including: “Remember, the folks actually speaking up are doing you a favor.” Virtual fitting rooms may be in our future.

Management: Storm Season

A Staples survey says natural disasters are the top safety concern among office employees, but the majority of businesses said recent disasters haven’t led them to reassess their safety plans. Here are a few questions to ask yourself before storm season. Here are six ways small businesses can take advantage of the summer slowdown. The editors at Entrepreneur think these 100 companies are brilliant, and J.D. Harrison has advice to prepare your business for growth. Alina Dizik offers thoughts on managing a business partner. These three games can teach you business skills. New research shows that busy people are happier. Here is what you should consider when choosing a business location.

Around the Country: Too Much Money

Arvind Mahankali of New York wins the National Spelling Bee. Texas cities lead the nation in population growth amid an expansion in manufacturing and potential tax cuts for businesses. A Hiscox survey finds Austin small-business owners are socially connected and well financed. A report says New York small businesses are hiring and expanding again as confidence improves. California has too much money, and after decades of decline the Great Lakes region is pinning its hopes for an economic comeback on water riches. A Philadelphia business remains frozen in time, and here are the winners of Memphis’s small-business awards. A teenager from Nashville has been awarded a $100,000 two-year fellowship to start a company — as long as he does not return to his college classes in the fall. In South Florida some organizations are mobilizing to immerse talented college and high school students in start-up life. A Lemonade Day in three New Jersey locations throughout June aims to provide hands-on business experience for youths. Angie Hicks will headline National Small Business Week.

Around the World: Australians Are Happy

Unemployment hits a record high in the euro zone, and Ashoka Mody warns: “the euro zone is operating under the pretense that public and private debts will, at some point, be repaid, although, in many countries, the distress now is greater than it was at the start of the crisis almost five years ago.” Australia is again ranked the happiest developed nation. A start-up hub at the old port of Haifa, Israel, is a magnet for entrepreneurs. Stefano Bernardi gives advice for going global with your start-up.

Online: Gmail’s New Inbox

Mary Meeker and Liang Wu share their presentation on Internet trends. McAfee says that the security needs of small businesses have not been met. Kevin Woodcock shares a few e-mail forwarding tips, and Gmail gets a new inbox. Online video may be more popular than Facebook and Twitter by 2017.

Mobile: How to Break a Contract

Each of the big PC makers has a stake in Android, and a new survey says mobile is now a top priority for corporate app builders. Megan Totka says these five mobile apps will help you take care of business, and ATT introduces a new mobile workplace for small businesses. Nelson Aguilar explains how to get out of your ATT contract early. Here are 10 things the BlackBerry Z10 does that the iPhone can’t. A French Open player uses his iPhone to dispute a call.

Technology: Budgets Are Up

Tech budgets are up the most in three years. Here are five ways to improve technical skills without spending a dime. Danny Stieben assesses the pros and cons of Skydrive and Google Drive. A “hairdo archaeologist” solves an ancient fashion mystery. Here are 10 “Star Trek” technologies that have almost come true. Apple suggests that more wearable devices are in our future. This is a summary of some new wireless products that could improve your business. Jason Nazar suggests 30 tools for small business, and here are three tips for getting the most from small-business technology. Dane Carlson likes this free online appointment scheduling tool, and McKinsey notes 12 disruptive technologies. Dropbox suffers a service interruption but communicates the situation well. Manufacturers are designing the factories of the future.

Tweet of the Week

@Navy_Bean_Soup: I’ll never be as passionate as the people willing to debate economic policies of the varying Star Trek universes on an internet forum.

The Week’s Best Quotes

Dayna Steele lists ways to create a Disney-like addiction to your company, including: “Every Disney employee looks you in the eye and smiles. Every employee I passed in the hotel and in the parks — from managers to ride operators to cleaning staff and more. Every. Single. One.”

Kevin Colleran says that if you don’t need the money, be grateful: “If you’re in a position where you can comfortably turn down funding, you must be doing something right. So if you are considering taking an investment, don’t rush into it. Take your time by exploring all these issues to make sure it’s the right partnership for you, your company and your potential investors.”

This Week’s Question: Does your small business make you healthier?

Gene Marks owns the Marks Group, a Bala Cynwyd, Pa., consulting firm that helps clients with customer relationship management. You can follow him on Twitter.

Article source: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/03/this-week-in-small-business-healthier-owner/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Small Business Tagged With: , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »