Even Amazon Shareholders Noticed…

When my partner suggested we pull Between Dreams off Amazon’s broad virtual shelf because they chose to publish a book I won’t name to avoid further promotion – I said yes.  On principle, yes even though I knew it would have the compounded effect of kicking Lady Liberty’s small toe.  So, I went searching for bigger impact.

At first, Amazon claimed they do not censor self published materials.  We of course know differently – there is a waiting period in which a key word search of the book is performed.    Amazon knows what’s in the materials.  An Amazon employee (s) chose to ignore internal standards and sell the book. 

When companies make this big of an error – a blatantly obvious violation of their principles – I want to know why.  I checked out  Amazon Investor Relations.  Here’s Amazon’s mission:   

We seek to be Earth’s most customer-centric company for three primary customer sets: consumer customers, seller customers and developer customers.

This time, the customers were in direct conflict.  What made Amazon see their error?  You did.  You set the standards.  Know that Amazon will be wrestling with this again today.  Why?

On Friday, while the broader market had a slight decline Amazon stock lost 2.75% of value – most of that in the afternoon as the outrage hit the mass media and investors reacted.  Corporations exist to maximize shareholder wealth and when they do things to destroy it – well that’s when they scramble to restore order. 

I am still a seller and consumer customer of Amazon.  People deserve second chances; companies deserve what they get based on their ability to respond to market demand.  I wanted to see an apology, I wanted a faster response and I really wanted to stop the pain it caused to so many.  My hope is Amazon takes this as an opportunity to hone their ability to listen to their customers.  We are navigating the new world of self publishing – there will be mistakes.  Hopefully this is one from which we learn.

Another Shift

US News & World Reports December Issue will be the last monthly edition of the magazine.  But talk about brand…these are the folks that rank colleges, careers, hospitals…  Their strategy has shifted to targeted placement of their in depth reports to appreciative audiences leaving the website for the masses.  Further blurring of the journalistic lines – it sounds like McKinsey & Co’s website.

Listening to an NPR interview of the editor one comment stood out.  In less than five years a walk through an airport will not include newsstands with rows of glossy covered magazines.  At the time – this summer – it was not clear what the replacement would be.  That was before the iPad and the new color Nook.  My, how a few months make a difference in technology, the affordability will soon follow.   

I am still trying to decide how I feel about that comment though.  Every fashion magazine is running an ad claiming magazines are really popular.  Subscriptions are growing.  Good, I believe in supply and demand.  But have to admit when we downsized four years ago, we eliminated subscriptions to magazines.  Supply in this case was limited space and demands were: dog toys, piano, favorite books and collection of art glass.  Maybe it was finally admitting that I would never wade through the back issues of Architectural Digest or perhaps the polite decline of the local librarian to take my sacred stash that made me realize magazine subscriptions were no longer a priority.  So, I stopped and shifted to online sources.  And after decades with a Vogue subscription – I still buy the mongo fall edition dog-earing the best pages.  But, I can do that with technology.  So what does that do to the magazines…take a page out of US News & World Reports’ play book…or the Wall Street Journal which I do subscribe to see full content.  Those who shift fastest…win.

Writer’s Blog

Okay, I’m not a journalist so this will not win me any prizes for deep investigative reporting.  At the Gathering of Writers this weekend I randomly asked writers – published writers – who’s blogging?  Here are the responses:

Don’t have the time…

Eye rolling – Look, I’m a writer.

Naw [for non-Hoosiers translation: no]

I just don’t get it, and don’t get me started on Twitter…

My publisher wanted me to, but you know.

I don’t know how…. Do you?

Yes, for Esquire every two weeks – about relationships.  [You can follow him @chiareality – fun guy.]

So, I need to backup [more evidence I’m not a reporter, they don’t back up do they?] So, The Writer’s Gathering is a once a year all day event put on by the Writers’ Center of Indiana.  Light on panel discussions, long on classes for poets, short story writers, novelists and the generally confuses [there was always a fourth session].  Great speakers, new ideas and a overall it was a worthwhile day. 

I took a class entitled ‘The Art Whose Medium is Language’ billed as writing and literature in revolution…expanding into blogs, word-image, fiction-nonfiction hybrids thinking that we would talk about the revolution that’s going on in writing forms.  Imagine my surprise when the instructor asked us to think about our grocery lists or our job applications differently – what’s the form and odes, whoops meant to write does but odes actually is more entertaining, when talking about the form of writing.  Needless to say it was about how to arrange things on the printed page.  See, I did it with the different fonts on my interviews but my guess is you barely noticed because everybody is doing that. 

So then when I asked the instructor if he blogged his strangled reply was ‘No’, with a light shake of the head and a shrug.  He moved away quickly.  Was that guilt?  So why wasn’t he blogging?  We are living in a time when we can direct our own destiny rather than waiting for a corporation or a university or our parents to say it is okay to do.  Once I figured out that blogging does not take away from my writing, it helps me to be a better writer…is when I finally embraced it.  There is a part of me that says, well, what do I have to say?  Why would anybody want to read my words?  But if I believed that, why would I write a novel in the first place?  Maybe no one is reading this or only one person is reading it, but if it touches that one person or opens a door they thought was closed then it was worth it.  If you stop reading midway through – well…I won’t know.

Companies are trying to figure out how to use this form – have been figuring it out  Dan Blank – which is a blog you should check out – has some great thoughts on how companies are using blogs.  So come on – claim your turf.  Share your thoughts.  If you are a writer, let me know where you are!

You aren’t serving anyone by trying to serve everyone – find the best fit

As an entrepreneur, it is easy to see the vision of others and to get excited about being a part of that vision.  However, it is important to evaluate how supporting someone else’s vision, serves your own.  (I can almost hear the gasp that accompanies reading that.)

I was recently invited to attend SOBCon Colorado and was so excited to have the opportunity to meet with some of the great people about creating a successful business.  There were really incredible takeaways from the conference that included something that really jumped out at me – You aren’t serving anyone by trying to serve everyone.

I have a natural passion to help people.  As a result, when new ePublishing opportunities arise, I can envision what will make the project successful and how we can serve the author.  However, there are times that it is better to decline a project because it may not be the best fit for Sterling Hope.  And if it isn’t the best fit, we are not in a position to do our best work.  This takeaway can be really important for your business as well.

It is important to think about who your ideal customer is.  As you start to ponder, consider the ideal customer as a real person, rather than a 35-year old woman with a B.S. and an income of X.  Think about what that customer looks like, where he/she lives, drives, thinks about, sees everyday…you get the point.  As you see this person take shape, it makes it easier to reach out to them, to connect.  The connection point is the place where you are able to be your best in business and in life.  It is where you best serve your customer and yourself.

If you are doing your best work for each customer, you build advocates for you and your business.  So focus on that customer you envisioned, share your expertise with them, and create an advocate.

Special thanks to Liz Strauss, Terry Starbucker, Erika Napoletano, John Cushman and Jonathan Fields – their insight really helped me find the words for this post.

Do you think you have a “REAL” business?

http://www.SterlingHope.com

Erika Napoletano wrote a post recently about freelancers needing to take themselves seriously for others to take them seriously.  After a weekend of business planning , we came to some very similar conclusions about our new business.

Growing a business takes time and planning.  We are so passionate about Sterling Hope, but it is not enough to know that you have a great idea.  That you are visionary and hard-working also isn’t enough, be aware of where you are and where you want to go.  We planned carefully and forecasted and thought about various aspects of our business.  Our business was/is very real…and then something minor happened that was eye-opening for me, someone asked for my card and – I didn’t have it with me.  You might think, “that’s no big deal.”  But when you are a small business owner that is a huge deal.  If you are so excited and passionate about your business and you can inspire someone to want to know more, be prepared.  They will only take you as seriously as you take yourself (as a professional).    

It occurred to me when that happened, that I was still in the pre-launch phase in my mind.  After spending so much time driving to the launch of the website, I missed that the conceptual was now a reality.  I had to make a shift that we were not starting a company, we had started a company.  Very different perspective when you think about it.

If you are a new or small business owner, how seriously are you taking your business?  Do you have a website?  Blog?  Business Cards?  Incorporation in your state?  Do you have a strategy to gain market share?  What are your goals for your business?  Have some tips for us?  We’d love to hear them.

 (If you don’t have goals, you will never reach them. If you haven’t already set them, do it now.)

3 Tips for a Thriving Business Partnership

Business Partnerships are like Strong Marriages… and we know the odds of a successful marriage…so what makes some partnerships survive and thrive? Well, think of those couples, the ones who are still holding now ‘wrinkled’ hands. Really, their success translates into successful business relationships.

3 tips to thrive:

1. Choose wisely, your mother gave you this one first but it’s still good advice. Professional firms spend years choosing their partners so that they can anticipate what will happen when the unexpected happens. So ask yourself how well you know your partner’s character in good times and bad. And, ask whether they are a security blanket? Bad story #1: a friend had all the talent, but thought she needed someone experienced in business. They were, and they ended up taking all her assets. Yuck. Good ending, she rebuilt it and became one of INC Magazines top 500 fastest growing companies.
2. Honor each other’s decisions, the easiest way to put this is ‘no means no’. Good story #1: Two companies struggled to form a new venture from parts of their company because they just could not settle on what was fair. The two CEO’s closed the door, looked each other in the eye and said no matter what the ownership % is if one partner said yes and the other said no, they would not proceed. Period. The company is on its twelfth year of steadily increasing profits.
3. Have the hard conversations.  For my partner Amber and I those conversations are always about equity share. Not because either one of us is greedy, the opposite. We want to make sure we’re not being selfish so we don’t speak clearly at times, leaving the other to guess. Partnership agreements are good at dividing up the cash but the rough points come when people contribute talent, time or relationships that are not easily valued. So talk through the value to make sure you have a shared understanding and blow the whistle when you do not feel things are equitable. It prevents a rocky break-up.

So, what works in your partnerships? Is it different with social media partnerships – virtual partnerships?  What makes them strong?