February « 2009 « Be Innovation

Just Compete Already

February 4, 2009

Why are there so many companies that sell an energy drink? Why are there so many deli’s in New York City? How is possible for a Quiznos to succeed across the street from a Subway?

Competition. There are enough customers out there looking for something different. They are willing to try something just because it is different. They are looking for something that gives them a different feeling, something to tell their friends about, something that sets them apart.

A company does not have to be markedly better to succeed in a competitive market. They just have to be different. Different is good. Different is important.

Don’t be afraid of being different. Apple is different than Microsoft. Starbucks is different than Dunkin Donuts. FedEx is different than UPS. They all compete for your business.

As a hopeful entrepreneur, it is easy to be talked out of entering a market because there is too much competition. They’ll say that there is no chance for an online bookstore called Amazon to take on the retail giants. You’ll say, but we’re different.

2 Comments | Branding, Risk | Tagged: Be Different, competition, entrepreneurship, small business | Permalink
Posted by Zach Heller

Lend a Finger Follow Up

February 2, 2009

How do you define success? Depending on the venture, there are always going to be a variety of goals and tools to use as measurement. Do you calculate the ROI of a project, or set small goals and consider achieving each one a success? It all depends.

Last week I posted a blog of significant importance to me. It was about my father, who had died of cancer, and the little steps that we can all take to help others. To read that post, click here and view the Lend a Finger Campaign.

I was not completely sure what I was looking to achieve with the post, but I did have some goals. I obviously wanted it to be a well written piece, one that sincerely related my thoughts to anyone who read it. I also wanted a lot of people to see it, more so than my average blog post. And after that, everything was gravy.

Well, after a few days of calculating stats and viewing the comments and emails of everyone who read it, I consider the post an incredible success. And I wanted to thank everyone for their help, though I can’t name you each individually, for helping to spread the message.

Many of my followers were quick to comment and retweet on Twitter, this lead to a lot of visitors and a large number of new followers, for which I am gracious. A surprising number of people used the sharing tools to share it on Facebook, which relayed the message to all of my friends and family. This brought in an overwhelming amount of emails and phone calls about the post.

After taking a look at the number of visitors to the Lend a Finger post, it is easy to see that when you are sincere and you have something interesting to say, others will take notice. My traffic from the day it went live through the weekend was 7-8 times higher than usual. I added this Twitpic of my stats on the day of the post.

Additionally, I was moved by the number of people who told me that they had or they planned on donating to cancer research and care, many in my father’s name. A quick mental calculation, of course I don’t know exact numbers, seems to show that 10-15 people donated to various charities that day after reading the blog.

I wish to thank everyone for their continued support. Know that if you got in touch with me that day, you moved me. If you helped relay the message, I appreciate it more than words can say. Because of the overwhelming feedback, I plan to use this blog as an outlet to bring to light many more things that we can do to help. I hope you will join me in the fight to make the world a better place.

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