Taking a two month break

Lately, I have not been fulfilling my obligation of writing 3 posts a week and I've suffered to manage my time.

I have written several posts talk about time management and doing "too much." I haven't been practicing what I preach.  Sometimes you have to face the fact that you are not superhuman.  I'm not superman with a cape that can save the day at any moment.  I'm not a time traveler that can go back in time and undue mistakes.



There is a lot of exciting new things going on with me right now.  Other than my sales consultant job, I have taken on another great fulfilling project that will allow me to do marketing and strategy based principles.  It's an upcoming start up and I can't divulge information about it.  I told you that I would not ever sell products on here- This is just a view into my world for you.

I am going to take a two month break from writing in this blog because I need to focus a lot of my attention to this upcoming project.  I truly believe my work on this project is a purpose.  2 months isn't too far away when you look at it.  This project is going to challenge not only my writing, but my brain.  It's going to make me a better marketer as I still need to focus on writing compelling content.

I am excited to come back in the next 2 months with ideas and concepts that are different from previous blogs.  I should be a better writer and creative.  I also aim to give this blog a reboot from a design standpoint.  Hang tight with me and anyone that has taken the time to come in my world...



Thank you- I won't be gone long.

Now Playing- "Gone til November"

I've got mine. You get yours!

I'd like to dedicate this following post to a friend struggling with help for his business.

It's 2014 and everyone in some capacity, is an entrepreneur.  Some people do it well, Few do it successful, and most fail.    That's just the reality of it.  We could say marketing, but most people are in the infant stage where they don't even know who their customer is.  I would list possible reasons being:





Laziness- Laziness to me is attributed to not having that passion to get things done.  Some of the entrepreneurs I know are obsessed with their work that it has rendered them awkward when talking about something outside of their field.  I also know a couple that are very talented but struggle to do what they know is necessary for the business to progress.



Early Entitlement- We believe in our vision so much that we tend to over value our venture and wear rosy colored glasses.  Some of us seek help with our business yet, refuse to genuinely care for others in a similar situation.  This entitlement stagnates progress and prevents most of us from gaining momentum.  There's so many people out there to help us with our product that we feel like they SHOULD and we've earned the right to feel entitled.

Marketing and branding your and product is very hard.  It takes years to get there and establish yourself.  A lot of people who have "made" it in success, are cryptic when you meet with them. They tell you enough information but not too much.  You tell them about your business idea and they smile and say "Interesting."  A week later, you contact that same person and they spin your wheel.  They are busy as well but trust me, if someone wants to help you, they will.


"Why won't they help me?"

An internal response from them would go:  "You're irrelevant.  Do you know how many people I talk to that tell me about an idea and need help?  You know how many I have helped in the past only to get burned by their ego or laziness?  I worked very hard to achieve what I have and my reputation is on the line any time I meet someone wanting my co-sign.  I need you to do more work with that constant enthusiasm you have.  Once you get to a level I feel it's less of a risk, I will help you."

It's tough to swallow but most people in business don't care about you unless you can help them.  They worked hard in their eyes to achieve that sense of "I'm here, waiting for you" mentality.  You can't be mad because those same people should fuel you to keep focused and wait for the day they contact you wanting to do business.   I remember in sales someone telling me that people hate to be sold to but love to buy things.  That same principle applies to entrepreneurship.  People like to learn more about something and buy into it when they are ready.

Now Playing-  311- All Mixed Up.

No ALS bucket challenge for me

First, I want to be honest and say I sadly did not know Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis was still a serious matter.  I always remembered it being called Lou Gehrig's disease- This is what my grandfather always called it.  Lou Gehrig was a famous baseball player who was diagnosed with the disease in June of 1939.  I didn't realize this disease was that damaging to this day.  A co worker of mine told me they had someone in their family battling this disease that currently has no cure.



The ALS challenge started with 2 young men who were diagnosed with the disease. The marketing world is buzzing over the "ALS" bucket challenge and kudos to it being  a phenomenal campaign.  Everyone has been dumping ice cold buckets of water in their face as a way to show solidarity. This might be controversial but how many people who do this challenge even know what ALS stands for?  That could be an interesting question to ask.  Marketing is powerful but if people don't understand it, is it really affective?  

All over Facebook and Twitter, you see everyone doing the challenge and challenging friends and family to do it as well.  "You have 24 hours." How many of these people are donating money to a worthy cause.  I have talked to a couple of people that have done the challenge and they keep saying they will donate but haven't. 

Viral marketing is powerful especially when you have celebrities and past presidents challenging other people in congress.  Famous athletes and movie stars bringing easy PR to themselves while helping a cause? Monkey see-Monkey do.  It's easy to dump a bucket of water on yourself in what is most likely hot summer weather for everyone within the United States.  It's harder to pull your wallet out and donate money to a cause most people know nothing about.  If you noticed, I said Viral marketing and then I said PR- The practice lines are starting to blur.

Today I want every single person  to ask 10 people what ALS stands for. I'm willing to bet out of 10 people, only 1 person will be able to tell you one word in the abbreviations. 

Some people are on along for a PR ride of attention and vanity.....

Some are just doing what everyone else tells them  to do..  I was challenged to do the ALS bucket challenge and I don't plan on doing it.  I don't do something if I don't know the history behind it or connect to it.  I will donate money to a cause because I believe in helping others genuinely.


Before I stop writing, 

Can you think of Lou Gehrig's great accomplishments as a baseball star before his crippling disease? 

It's tough that he's synonymous with a disease.  THAT's Marketing.

Marketing is the cover up!

As a freelance musician , I have had opportunities to meet and work with very talented musicians.  I know some incredible musicians that are borderline virtuoso's in their craft.  Some of these same guys struggle to find ways to highlight their talent.  There is also the whole "commercial is a sell out" philosophy they share.

Flip the coin and I know decent musicians who aren't as talented as my virtuoso friends.  They spent more time crafting a "character" and story that would give them the attention.  These musicians end up being more successful due to networking and trying to understand their audience.

I got the chance to work on projects in marketing and learned a few things.  Marketing is very important but if you were to talk to different people within a project, some would think  it's not that important. Some of them confuse sales and marketing while some simply don't know what Marketing really is.  Here are 2 important departments that aide Marketers.

Technical Engineers:

An engineer would say "Work on the product and make it so good, you don't need to spend a lot of money on marketing."  The engineer is seeing it from their point of view and I partially agree with it- You can't polish a turd.  The best engineers in the world are great to have because they minimalize the risk of the product not functioning properly. 

Not all of us have the luxury of working with the greatest engineers.  They are extremely specialized and in the new world of multiple hats, it's harder to find great engineers.  What if we had average engineers and limited budget?  

Marketing is the glue to help a product that may not be 100%, become relevant.  Like a musician obsessing over a chord progression, engineers fall privy to "perfectionism." Working on a product without communicating how it will help the customer can be dangerous and expensive.


R and D Team:

This team is always tied to sales and marketing but we know what their true agenda is-DATA.  They love data and lots of it.  They would tell you that there's no marketing if there's no research.  You need them in order to determine if the "idea" makes sense.  They develop these hypothesis and look more from a logical standpoint.  They share similar views from an engineer standpoint, as well as a marketing standpoint.

What makes R and D so crucial is that they are the ones that bridge the gap of technological ability and consumer insight trends.  Both sides need R and D.  R and D takes a huge junk of the budget and they rightfully can dispute they are more important than the others.  They are like the student in HS that was neither popular( Marketing) or nerd (Engineer)  They have the rare ability to connect with both sides.

It's tough for me to tell you that without strong R and D, a company is consistently successful.  I will say marketing  can compensate when budgets are limited.  Marketing can be the make up you use to cover a blemish so it's not as noticeable. If you happen to have those great engineers, and a strong R and D team,  Marketing in my eyes, the game changer to make you relevant!

Now Playing- Duck Sauce-NRG