Brian Feener

With the amount of time your company has taken to develop the product, why not take the extra effort to make it worth using?

If I need a computer, someone may recommend a MacBook Pro, an Asus Eee PC, or something in the middle.

If I need a new tennis sneaker, someone may recommend an adidas Barricade, a Reebok CB Court, or something in the middle.

If I want a coffee, I can go to Starbucks, the gas station, or somewhere in the middle.

It’s death to be in the middle.  No one remembers the middle.  You may be able to sell some, but it won’t be as much as if you were able to get your product to not just tell a story, but BE the story.

The more work you do before the product hits the shelves to make it the story, the better chance you have to make an extraordinary item.

No one remembers second place, but they always remember the first and the last.

I just got finished reading Chris Anderson’s book Long Tail so I’ll give you a review and a reaction.

1. The Review: Good.  Read it.

2. The Reaction: The exceptions have become the rule of online business but I think that you can also apply this same philosophy to life.

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Jen has a great account about how marketing is an all the time thing, not when you want to.

When a mistake is made, there are better ways than others to move on.  One way to move on is to try to change the subject, but it’s about as subtle as the bull in the china shop.

It’s the opposite of poetry.

It’s crude, offensive and unflattering.

It’s an insult to those who live with any sense of honor.

It’s a legal issue.

It’s an admission of guilt without the part where there’s culpability.

Miguel Tejada will talk about anything… except steroids.  (ESPN)

Paul Rosenberg and DJ Cipha Sounds did their hip-hop Juan Epstein podcast recently (explicit) and the conversation immediately went to how Cipha is constantly on his hustle. Here’s his grind and how you can apply it to your career.

1. MTV VJ on Sucker Free Sunday - The gig you do for basically free, but is helping you build your brand. If you’re an entertainer, you do YouTube videos. If you’re a salesman, write a book about sales. This is not the first thing you should attempt, but it will help you sell your other products later by giving you credibility. The best thing you can do is find a niche and be the authority on it.

2. Sirius Satellite Radio, Shade 45 - 8am - 12noon, everyday - Your paycheck job. You gotta pay your bills. It also helps to have regular employment on your resume, no matter what industry you’re in. If you’re consulting, then you better have some sort of income coming in.

3. Cipha Sounds and Rosenberg, 8am - 10am Sat. & Sunday - Hobbies are good, getting paid for your hobbies is better.
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Good post about the difference between getting a pitchman and making an advertisement.

A toothbrush can be manual, electric, functional, stylish, feature-heavy, single-function, colorful, plain, and everything else.

They are also in every household in America.

How can you make your business more like a toothbrush? What message are you going to send with your product or service?

What does your toothbrush say about you?

Update: Is your product/service’s story compelling enough for other people to tell it? (Thanks to Chris from RawStylus for helping me think of it.)