bwagy

The platform play is a common one in niche industries.

It can be very successful.

However a recurring problem (and downfall) is a lack of focus.

Imagine your platform is like a big slab of concrete on a vacant lot.  This is your platform.

It can be anything; a carpark, a basketball court, a place to throw your rubbish.

Without direction it is open to interpretation.  It may even remain abandoned.

There may be easy road access so people park there; maybe the sun is really bright so people sunbath, maybe there are fences so people play sports inside.

As the owner of the platform, you need to pick a path, direct the audience towards that, open up to other opportunities later.

If you be everything to everyone you become nothing.  

(For more info best read my prior posts on Platforms here and here)

With all the doom and gloom atm I just wanted to share with you a private email I sent to a few of my colleagues back in November…

Hey,

As per my usual weekend ritual, which is to take some time out, step back, have some fun with my friends & family, review and reflect upon the week, treat myself, I went out this morning and purchased a book and I wanted to share with you a couple of paragraphs from the first few pages:

“Business is creative.  It’s like painting.  You start with a blank canvas.  You can paint anything – anything – and there, right there, is your first problem.  For every good painting you might turn out, there are a zillion bad paintings just aching to drip off your brush. Scared? You should be. You start. You pick a colour. The next colour you choose has to work with the first colour.  The third colour has to work with the first and the second.  The fourth colour… You get the idea.  You’re committed now.  You absolutely cannot stop.  You’ve invested. There is no reverse gear on this thing.  People who bad-mouth businessmen and women in general are missing the point. People in business who succeed have swallowed their fear and have set out to create something special, something to make a difference to people’s lives.  Are the colours just right? Are the planes polished? Do the crew look good? Are they comfortable? Are the seats OK? What’s the food like? It costs how much….?

And whether you’re a surrealist or a CEO, there are always bills to pay and money always arrives later than you ever dreamed possible.  In the teeth of a downturn, petty financial hassles can turn into major, life-changing crises, and tough decisions often have to be made.  This is the side of business that journalists like to write about, – but it’s the least exciting, least distinctive part of business.  It’s secondary. It’s dull.  What really matters is what you create.  Doe is work or not? Does it make you proud?”

Isn’t this what business is about? Isn’t this why we got into business? To be creative, to destroy something we didn’t like, to build something we saw, to say that’s not right let’s do it this way. We are all artists, business artists, entrepreneurs.

This is certainly why I got into business, I have told many people when they ask Why do you go through the pain? I love doing it, I love creating things, growing, moving entities that reflect change in peoples lives.

This is what I see in every entrepreneur I meet today, a spark in their eye, as they know they have leaped off a cliff, but they are making their dreams happen.

Now we all know that there is a shake up going on, it’s been going on for a while, but people don’t change fast, they cling to what they know.  The shake up is on, things are going to change NOW. Fast.

The challenge and responsibility that lyes upon us as entrepreneurs is to create, to innovate, to inspire others, to be the glowing light in the dark.

We need to group together, help each out, what are the challenges you are having? share them with your peers, maybe we can help you or find someone to help you.

The turn is coming, through pain and pressure comes creativity, we have to survive and thrive within the environment, we can and we will.

So take this on a whim, or think about what you can do.

If you have got this far, thanks so much for your time, I truly appreciate it.

I wish you all the best and keep in touch, let’s make things happen.

Ben

ps
The quote is from Richard Branson‘s new book Business Stripped Bare,
go out grab it, read it, loan it to friends, spread the inspiration.

And

Remember perseverance is genius.

–

My only comment to add is, it’s all about action, so start walking.

The Best Ideas are Free we know that.

But often in a business scenario to stimulate the idea generation we need to part with some dollars.

A few crowdsourcing sites have popped up, the idea is to tap into a large crowd to generate ideas for marketing, business and general problems.

Fantastic model.

Yet for Marketing I think its slightly overengineered and appeals to a slightly lemon market.

That is those that have the time to invest in the site may not necessarily be that savvy (exception to the rule is those that commit time to invest in it strategically).  

Typically the target market are very time poor and do not have the time or resources to invest into yet another social resource.

I think a simple email list suffices.

Create a list of interested parties, email then occaisonally with a marketing problem, provide them with a bounty.

Keep it simple.

Just to let you know I’m taking a bit of a sabbatical this week and next.

Some time to unplug, unwind and revitalise.

I shall be off exploring some of the upper North Island of New Zealand.

In the meantime check out some of my most popular posts:

1. You Can do What You Want
2. 12 Hour Startup is gaining momentum
3. Running a Twitter Campaign
4. You wonder why Starbucks is struggling
5. Bloggers Pack
6. Personality
7. Am I smiling?
8. Customers becoming Evangelists
9. How Marketing can help solve Poverty
10. I fail lots

I look forward to catching you all the week of the 20th. 2009 is the year to dominate!

One of my first Monday Ideas Posts was about how Petrol Stations could improve their service.

I want to follow that up and push it a bit further.

Cafes are renowned for price discrimination ie Free Trade coffee for $0.50 extra however the coffee beans only make up a minor part of the production cost.

Petrol stations have this with premium petrol but I think they can do better.

Let’s help the customers help themselves.

Have a carbon credit rate, where you pay for your gas plus a premium to cover the avg carbon credits you would use for that tank of gas. 

By my calculations, using 22mpg and 12,000 miles/yr (from here: http://www.liveneutral.org/calculator/) you would pay$0.0045 per mile or 11 cents a gallon.

Why do this?

• Customers know about global warming
• They also still need to fill up their car.
• You can help them do this without feeling guilty, garner extra revenue but also help build your brand for whent he day comes that fuel is no longer needed.

Thoughts? Would you pay extra for this? Should it be compulsory for businesses to pay the premium? Government vehicles?

Yes it is.

But also it isn’t.

You think movies can earn billions of dollars by keeping all the money for themselves.

No they don’t.

They involve hundreds of different organisations to help produce, edit, marketing, distribute, sell, merchandise, ringtones, cross promotions with McDonalds.

Growing an organisation is the same, sharing the pie with others.

So it is all about you, but to make it big do not be afraid to bring others in.

They add credibility, expand the pie and most of all share the risk.

(oh and plus its fun).

That’s my rant on entrepreneurs whom want to keep the pie all to themselves. Stop it. Chances are your too arrogant to grow what you’ve got.