Archive for Seth Godin
What do you want from me, I just work here?
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Was just reading this post by Seth Godin and it reminded me of one of the big attitude problems you often find with businesses in Israel.
And that is that workers tend to treat their job as their job and nothing more. They don’t look to go the extra mile and they for sure are not interested in the “brand” they are working for. Of course their are exceptions to this rule as with every rule, but I the attitude is not just with businesses here in Israel, but with government offices as well.
If the store closes at 6:00pm, the worker has the lights off and is locking the door at 6:00pm. And if someone tries to come in they will here the excuse that the register is shut off. This even happened to me recently with a pharmacy when I needed medicine for my wife who was sick. The guy was sitting there and it would have taken him 2 minutes to get the medicine and take the money, but he refused because he was “closed”.
The problem is that the client is not as important to a worker here in Israel as he is to the boss. The boss/owner will almost always make exceptions ans try to take care of a client. This may be because it is good business practice, but then again it could be because of a Power Trip that comes with being the owner.
I think one of the underlining reasons for this stems from the boss/owner. It is his responsibility to create the culture and atmosphere that will make his workers feel like they are part of something special and that they are all building something together. Now I have not really ever worked for an Israeli boss, but somehow I get the feeling that the way the bosses in Israel treat their workers is similar to the way the workers treat their customers.
The Puzzle Model: Piecing together as a business model
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- Image via Wikipedia
Just read another great post by Seth Godin called “How to be a Packager“. In it Seth starts out by talking about putting a book together and being the one that manages the flow. Everything from putting the authors together to designing the cover to selling the book. Kind of like a wedding planner for books.
“A book packager is like a movie producer, but for books. You invent an idea, find the content and the authors, find the publisher and manage the process. Book packagers make almanacs, illustrated books, series books for kids and the goofy one-off books you find at the cash register. I did everything from a line of almanacs to a book on spot and stain removal. It was terrific fun, and in a good year, a fine business. Along the way, I worked with just about every major publisher and created more than a hundred books. I packaged (with various levels of success) video games, college professors, Julia Robert’s astrologer, an award-winning children’s novelist, the Weekly World News, Kinko’s and (almost) Craftsmen Tools.”
He then goes on to talk about using this model but for other ventures. The truth is this is not a new model and as I said on top it’s sort of like being a wedding planner. There are many industries and businesses that are built on being what Seth call a “Packager”.
Now while Seth is talking about taking perhaps existing products and or content and packaging them together, I would like to spend a couple of minutes talking about “Packages” that save time and the value they bring.
This is probably best noticed with consultants. Consultants have the experience and the knowledge to direct and guide you to the solution you are looking for. While it is possible to find the information on your own, a consultant can save you tens or even hundreds of hours. You just need to ask yourself how much is your time worth.
Another similar deal is a web design firm. Where as I am a big advocate of using FREE website designers, this is mostly for informational type of websites, easy E-commerce sites or for when you are just getting started. But if you are looking for a more advanced type of website, a web design firm will create a whole package for you including hosting, paypal integration, blog software, forms, design, etc.
The point is even though you can do something yourself with enough time, is it really something you should do? Again, it depends on how much you value your time.
Another thing to think about is how can you create a new business by saving time for people whose time is valuable. Think out of the box. The same with being a packager. What can you package together that will bring value and save time for those that need what ever it is your selling? There is plenty of opportunity out there and the article by Seth Godin is a good way to inspire you and get you started.
Mashable presents Seth Godin Video on 7 tips for start-ups in a down market
Posted by: | CommentsAs readers of this blog know I am both a big fan of Seth Godin and of Mashable. Today Mashable posted a video asking Seth for tips for start-ups in todays down market. You can watch the video below. These tips are great advice for Israel entrepreneurs as well.
Purple Pizza! Free consulting to a pizza place in Israel, shame they didn’t listen
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I get calls almost every week or meet people that ask me for business advice. I love helping out people and so even though my time is limited I always try to make time to help people out. So many times I see an advertisement and I shake my head saying what are they doing? Or I will see a business and think that if they would only do this. But because of time restraints and also because I have found that unsolicited advice is usually not taken very well I don’t often get involved. One time about a year ago an owner of a pizza place approached me and asked me if I had any connections for work in the States since his business was not doing so well. So I asked him why not concentrate on his business and made him an offer to sit with him and go over things which I did. After doing so I spent a few hours and wrote up a report advising him what he should do to bring up sales and differentiate himself from his competitors. I used the purple pizza method based on being a purple cow.In short I told him that he should be absolutely ridiculous about his toppings. Where his competitors offered about 8 different topping on average, he should offer 50 of them! And then I made up a list of 50 different toppings. His pizza boxes and advertising should list all 50 toppings and he should run a contest for most creative topping of the month award and each month feature that new topping along with a picture of the one who suggested it. He should create t-shirts with the 50 toppings on it and the phone number and give them out to kids. Toppings like ziti, pickles, falafel, pineapple, white sauce (think fettuccine), apple slices, pareve sausage, etc… I told him all he would have to do is keep a little bit on hand until he sees which ones are most asked for. Kids like crazy toppings and so if you were a kid and wanted to buy a pizza, guess which pizza place they would beg their parents to buy from? But unfortuntaley he did not take me up on my advice and he is still just trying to pay his rent. If you take the time, money and effort to start a business, be different!! Be a purple cow eating a purple pizza! Exspecially if you have competitors that are all basically selling the same thing. One of the best pizza places in Israel is in Modiin called Giant Pizza! I will take my family their for a couple of reasons.
- They have a mehadrin hechsher (opens themselves to more clients)
- They have a cool website (http://www.giantpizza.co.il)
- They have the biggest pizza slices I have ever seen!
- Their pizza is really good!
- Everytime I go there the owner is always there and he comes to shmooze with me and makes sure I’m happy.
- They make giant pizzas with pictures and even logo’s
They stand out! They are different! If only more pizza places in Israel would follow their lead, then the quality and chocies will get better which would lead to selling more pizza’s and creating happier customers!
Check out their video on youtube!
Viral Marketing: Download your free book, The Idea Virus, by Seth Godin
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Seth Godin is priceless. He is always giving away free advice from his blog and free books you can download, like this one called Unleashing The IdeaVirus. The best way to have your product our business succeed is having it spread like a virus. Quickly and penetrating everyone it comes in contact with. Is your new product viral? How can you make it viral? Read this book and move to the head of the class. Read this blog post for an example on how Seth got this book read by millions of people in a real life example of what he teaches you in his book.
Be A Purple Cow – Standing out from the crowd
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Why would I want to be a Purple Cow?
Great question, but first we need to know "What is a Purple Cow?". I'll answer the question with a question as all good Jewish Bloggers do. If you had a room full of black & white cows and only one purple cow, which one would stick out? The answer is obviously the Purple one. If you are up against competition what makes you stand-out? Why should someone want to do business with you as opposed to with one of your competitors? It's not always about being the cheapest. It's about service, it's about being different, standing out!
The Purple Cow concept was developed and made into one of my favorite marketing books of all time by Seth Godin. Seth is a master marketer and I strongly urge any business owner or entrepreneur to purchase every one of his books. They are all great!
In the book Purple Cow, Seth almost begs you to be a purple cow and stand out and be different.
What do Starbucks and JetBlue and KrispyKreme and Apple and DutchBoy
and Kensington and Zespri and Hard Candy have that you don't? How do
they continue to confound critics and achieve spectacular growth,
leaving behind former tried-and true brands to gasp their last?
Face it, the checklist of tired 'P's marketers have used for decades to
get their product noticed -Pricing, Promotion, Publicity, to name a
few-aren't working anymore. There's an exceptionally important 'P' that
has to be added to the list. It's Purple Cow.
Cows, after
you've seen one, or two, or ten, are boring. A Purple Cow, though…now
that would be something. Purple Cow describes something phenomenal,
something counterintuitive and exciting and flat out unbelievable.
Every day, consumers come face to face with a lot of boring stuff-a lot
of brown cows-but you can bet they won't forget a Purple Cow. And it's
not a marketing function that you can slap on to your product or
service. Purple Cow is inherent. It's built right in, or it's not
there. Period.
In Purple Cow, Seth Godin urges you to
put a Purple Cow into everything you build, and everything you do, to
create something truly noticeable. It's a manifesto for marketers who
want to help create products that are worth marketing in the first
place.
In this category on this blog we will go into purple cows in Israel as well as tell over stories and give advice on how businesses in Israel stand out. And you should know, being a purple cow is not just if you are a business owner, but also if you are looking for a job! How do you stand-out? If a job position opens up and the company gets 300 CV's, why should they hire you? Is your CV the same as everyone elses? In your job interview do you make yourself memorable?
