Tim Williams

PG interviewed Tim Williams, co-founder of House of Genius based in Boulder, which assembles brilliant, diverse groups of 15-18 people to focus their collective creativity and experience on solving important problems – in rapid-fire manner.  Once a month, in evening sessions in cities around the world, the group hosts three business presenters and offers insights, suggestions and introductions to advance their causes.  House of Genius now convenes in Denver, Boulder, Austin, San Francisco, Portland, NYC and Singapore.

Can you give us a snapshot of your career path?

At the only job I’ve ever had, I was fired for stealing toilet paper after only working three months. Otherwise, I’ve been a life long entrepreneur that has become a vacuum I couldn’t escape from if I tried. I’ve dabbled in everything from industrial surface cleaning, magazine pre-pressing, and even creating for the “mommy community”. Pretty much anything I thought of was a seamless transition from thought to execution. Sometimes I wish I was an astronomer though, I love the Universe.

 What was the inspiration for House of Genius?

One inspiration was the thought of bringing together a group of diverse people to collectively help each other solve problems. A group of people that doesn’t know each other, has no expectations, and is just flat out ready to create some good together. That, combined with the incredible desire to provide a worthwhile experience and effective collaborative format that people truly love was the recipe for House of Genius.

Can you tell us about one barrier to growth House of Genius has encountered that spurred change?

Learning to create and manage multiple teams of organizers located in different cities around the U.S. was difficult right off the bat. At first thought, why not expand to a new location? That was before thinking of how much is involved in that process. We made a decision early on to support our organizers rather than be organizers ourselves. That has put us in a position to bring our format to benefit more entrepreneurial communities and focus on constantly improving.

Have there been any surprises along the way?

The most unexpected breakthrough I’m proud of is the willingness and motivation of our organizers. It’s extremely humbling and refreshing to have them gladly take over as a role of organizer so that it frees us to expand our format to new locations. We get great feedback all the time and it’s because these people are so eager to help that makes it possible.

Can you share a peak experience that still motivates you today?

After randomly pitching an idea to the CEO of CafePress.com, Fred Durham, he invited me to their production facility where I stood on the mezzanine watching the hundreds of employees passionately crank out orders. He told me a story that day about life that completely changed my perception of the world. It made me believe in myself. Once I achieved that, I found there is an underlying physical feeling when you truly realize anything in the world is possible. That is now a fiber of my being and I live by it every day.

How do you integrate your personal values into your entrepreneurial life?

I’ve thought a lot about my values and I try to instill them into everything I do:

Purpose Driven Entrepreneurship – Entrepreneurship that strives to create profitable businesses that are high impact and solve problems to help our world become more sustainable (economically, socially and purposefully).

Open Intelligence – a.k.a. “True Transparency” - Interconnected sharing of entrepreneurial experience, paths to success, business data and purpose.

Relationships First – The ability to cooperate on a personal level and agree on values and principles before conducting business.

Any words you live by?

“Every time you want to make any important decision, there are two possible courses of action. You can look at the array of choices that present themselves, pick the best available option and try to make it fit. Or, you can do what the true entrepreneur does: Figure out the best conceivable option and then make it available.” – Jon Burgstone

Derek Olson

PG interviewed Derek Olson of Foraker Labs (pronounced FOR-uh-kur like the 17,400 ft mountain in Alaska).   The Boulder-based company builds web and mobile applications and specializes in content management, community applications and eCommerce for the nonprofit, educational and healthcare markets – and other folks, depending on the interesting opportunities that come their way.

Can you give us a snapshot of your career path?

My first non-paper route job was when I was 15, washing dishes at a diner for $3.70 an hour. After college, I got a job in the great north woods working as a cook for a spell (seriously, I was a cook at an adventure lodge in Alaska.)  My first job in technology was with Foraker Labs, back in 2000. Been here ever since!

What was the inspiration for Foraker?

When Foraker Labs came into being in 1999, the web was full of hard-to-use, ugly websites and apps. Turns out.. it still is! Our mission today remains unchanged: create software that people love to use by replacing clutter and confusion with beauty and clarity.

Can you tell us about one barrier to growth Foraker has encountered that spurred change?

For most of our history, our business grew through word-of-mouth referrals from existing customers. Now as a 20-person company, it’s much more important to have a consistent flow of new projects so that no one goes without work for long. While I used to do most of the business development, it’s become too big a job for me alone (in addition to the other jobs I have here). To accommodate this new reality, we’ve hired a full-time business development guy. This has definitely increased our ability to land new projects and customers.

Is there one project or customer close to your heart?

I’m most proud of the work we do for Breastcancer.org. This was my first project when I started at Foraker Labs 12 years ago. Back then, the site had a few dozen visitors each day, and was nowhere to be found in the search engines. Today, it is the most heavily-trafficked breast cancer website in the world, and provides empowering medical information and support to more than a million women (and men) each month.  We built their Breast Cancer Diagnosis Guide iPhone app too.

Can you share a peak experience that still motivates you today?

When I was a volunteer firefighter in Alaska, I got called out on a particularly nasty car wreck – on a day when the ambulance was out of service for repairs. I arrived at the scene (60 miles from the nearest hospital) to find one driver dead and two little girls fighting for their lives on the pavement. I was sent back alone to the ambulance hall several miles away to grab intubation kits, IV needles/bags, oxygen, c-spine collars, and all the other equipment that would normally have been on the ambulance. I was under extreme time pressure, but had to make absolutely sure I didn’t forget anything essential. It was the most terrifying day of my life. I didn’t forget anything essential, but I still sometimes wonder if I could have been faster and perhaps prevented one of the little girls from dying. While the pressures of commercial software development can seem extreme in the moment, they pale in comparison to a true life or death situation. I draw on that experience frequently.

How do you integrate your personal values into your entrepreneurial life?

I value community, environmental stewardship, and helping those in need. Foraker Labs has done hundreds of thousands of dollars in pro bono work over the years, and we are active in teaching the next generation of software designers and developers.  Each week I take home Foraker Labs’ prodigious output of coffee grounds and compost them in my organic garden!

Any words you live by?

“Weeks of programming can save you hours of planning.”

____________________________________________

Related posts:

http://www.pivotguild.com/blog/the-ten-commandments-of-website-usability-the-video

Well, it’s a new year and a new day.  Businesses and consumers are starting afresh and seeking their needs in the marketplace.  Can you offer them access to deep expertise?  A product or service that fills a void? Makes life easier?  You need to be able to articulate that customer-centric value proposition right out of the gate and then it becomes all about making it easier for your  prospects to become buyers. As you balance your frustrations against your opportunities, here are some proven business practices for distinguishing yourself AND helping clients to choose AND refer business to YOUR business.

1. Develop a standard procedure for responding to an inquiry and use it consistently. This is the beginning of a relationship. The initial contact is crucial in establishing your expertise, your communication skills, your professional working-style and personality – not by selling but by listening and being responsive.

• Think of yourself as the prospect’s expert guide through foreign territory – not a salesperson.
• Keep the focus on the client’s needs.
• Guide the conversation gently but authoritatively with clarifying questions. Reflect what you are hearing.
• Silently assess whether there is a good match between your two organizations. If there is, suggest a next step (e.g. a meeting to formalize the project). If it is not, be a valued resource that they will remember: make a referral.

2.  Help prospects articulate their needs. Remember, you are the expert. Your potential clients often don’t know the questions to ask or the language to express their preferences. It’s your responsibility to extract from them what you need to price correctly, manage within budget and cultivate a mutually satisfactory relationship. To do this:

• Create a needs- assessment, checklist or questionnaire – and craft it to elicit specifications.
• Ask for input and examples on likes and dislikes – and probe the “why” behind the preferences.
• Provide samples and solicit the same type of information.

3.  Make sure your website is client centric, user-friendly and optimized. It’s estimated that up to 97% of purchase decisions by business people AND consumers are preceded by some degree of online research. You may never get that initial contact if your site doesn’t encourage it. At the very least yours should include:

• An overview of how clients use your products and services, benefit from them and achieve desired goals with your help;
• An online portfolio or links to work samples and client stories showcasing what has mattered most to previous customers;
• Bio or bios that demonstrate your client-orientation (not just your credentials);
• Testimonials that address common objections (price-value; delivery-on-promise; deadlines; etc.);
• Customer Education (blogs , articles or simple content on trends and how your offering improves their businesses or lives); and
• Clear contact options with a specific call to action. (Do you prefer a call? An email?)

4.  Justify your pricing – non-defensively. Today everyone is looking for bargains – or at the very least, value. Aren’t you? So make sure to offer prospects a variety of options. Present the rationale for your pricing based on real costs (without sharing minutiae), degree of customization, special requests and any (measurable!) value-adds you provide.

5.  Formalize your relationship with a simple agreement. Yes, if you’re in service, it’s nice to do business over a hand-shake but a simple summary of the project or terms of service can go a long way to managing mutual expectations, dealing with conflicts and negotiating additional costs for add-ons.  Alternatively, if you in retail or selling products, consider a guarantee or customer-friendly policy of some type.

For Service Businesses, your standard (reusable) agreement should include:

• The scope of work;
• Roles of various participants (who does what);
• Milestones and deadlines (including those which require client material, review or input);
• Payment terms and timelines;
• A means of resolving disputes should they arise; and
• Signatures and dates from each authorized party.

Marketing and customer attraction is not one-size-fits-all so use your knowledge of customer resistance and preferences to adapt these tips to your client-development efforts as needed. Think in terms of removing any barriers to sales. Still not sure what those barriers are? Ask your customers, colleagues and friends what influences their purchase decisions!

Let us know where you can use some help. In the meantime, have any other tips or challenges you’d like to share?

These days, rightly or wrongly, most consumers and many business people have fallen under the spell of the Internet as the source of all things true and valuable.  So that old adage could be updated: “If you’re not on the Web, you don’t exist.”

Your website can be a multi-tasking, lead generating, marketing Superhero OR it can be the Villain that is thwarting your good intentions to build reputation, attract business and grow.

So where do you stand?  Are you one of the estimated 49% of small businesses that is still limping along without a site?  Or maybe you put up a “brochure” style site years ago and then essentially crossed it off your to-do list.  If you have a site, does it generate the quantity and quality of contacts you desire?

If you don’t have a contemporary site that factors in the advances in search engine optimization and web marketing strategy, you probably haven’t even thought about whether your customers and prospects are trying to access you on their mobile devices!  Now that could keep a person up at night.

Here is a short checklist of compelling reasons to design or redesign your website NOW (and there are many more!):

1. You don’t have one, which today, amounts to being invisible in the marketplace.
2. You don’t have control over content and have to pay for routine updates.
3. The site looks amateurish or has an outdated design or old content.
4. Links, images or other page elements are broken.
5. You are not attracting a flow of dynamic traffic.
6. It is cluttered with too much content, too many calls to action, is in denial that less is more.
7. You aren’t receiving inquiries or sales leads from your site.
8. You’ve never evaluated the site for readability or ease-of-use
9. The content doesn’t reflect customer preferences and needs
10. There is no interactive content for engagement (e.g. blog, social media, polls & surveys, videos to share, etc.)
11. You have no analytics or haven’t acted on data to respond to how the site is currently being used
12. The brand look and content of the site are inconsistent with your other marketing tools
13. You’re not making it easy for users to purchase what you’re selling

It’s time to  redeem your Villainous site and convert it to Superhero status!

The next post will be about how to select the right web developer or designer to play Robin to your Batman.  In the meantime, we welcome your comments about web development and online marketing.

PS  For those who like data, here’s the rude awakening:

94% of consumers research online before making a purchase (Compete.com)

87% actually made purchases online during the 2011 holidays  (Equation Research via Mashable)

71% of enterprise (business) purchases start with an online search (DAC Group)

Even without data, we know from our own routines, that both consumers and business people turn to the web first to research purchases of goods and services.  I do it, you do it and virtually everyone from the decider at a growing company to your granny does it.

A major pain point is converting a prospect into a customer.   This week, as we prepare for our newest workshop on 12/13,  How to Create a Killer Sales Proposal, we asked Trainer-Guide Sherry Law to share a couple of tips on how to replace fear with empowerment when it comes to pursuing sales opportunities.

GUEST BLOGGER:  Sherry Law, CEO, Evergreen Communication

Sherry Law

Most businesses greet news of a sales opportunity with a mixed reaction: the excitement of possible sales and the dread of losing hours of precious time writing a proposal that may not win the business.  Is it worth the risk to put aside everything else to write this proposal?  Well, I can tell you that there’s a way you can enjoy the excitement and mitigate the risk by writing the most important parts of the proposal in advance, the parts that meet your two primary goals for writing every proposal:

• Showing the value of your product or service; and
• Setting yourself apart from the competition.

TIP #1:  Whether you are a sole proprietor or part of a company with a sales and marketing staff, you can save significant time and stress by writing all you can in advance. You’ll be creating a ready-to-use sales tool that expresses your strengths and solutions in compelling terms; protects your brand: and leaves no doubt that you are uniquely qualified to meet the buyer’s needs.

TIP #2:  By creating standard language when you’re not under deadline, your proposal language will certainly sound more confident and professional; you’ll have the time to edit for accuracy; and you’ll be able to use it again and again. Time saved. No Stress.

What’s your rate of conversion from proposal to sale and how much time and stress does it take you to get there? What do you hate most about the sales proposal process and what’s not a problem for you? I’d love to hear your experience in the comments below.

Sherry Law is a communication professional with 20 years’ experience in marketing and internal communications. She is an advisor to CEOs and executives, working with them to create clear, compelling messages that help motivate employees and increase productivity, retention, and employee satisfaction, especially in managing change.

Click here to view the embedded video.

In the meantime, what has helped YOU overcome a barrier to growth?  Deal with a difficult customer or client?  Be creative when resources have been scarce?  Communicate something complex in a persuasive manner?  Continue moving forward when economic and operational conditions have been challenging?

Please do share your pearls of wisdom in the comments below!

Worse yet, do you have a sneaking suspicion that your own website might be frustrating prospects and blocking calls to action?

User attention spans are reportedly at 7 seconds these days and getting shorter all the time! So if you missed our Conversation over Lunch on Website Usability: A Demo of Humor & Insight, here are some highlights on engaging your website visitors  and improving their flow through your messaging and sales cycle, courtesy of PivotGuild Trainer-Guide Derek Olson.

Derek Olson

Guest Blogger: Derek Olson, Foraker Labs

Commandment I: Thy Content Shall not be Crap

Your textual website content is king. Do not begin graphic design until your content is complete.

More info:

http://wwwJoraker.com/use-your-words/

Commandment II: Requireth Not Thy Users to Squint

Tiny text is the #1 complaint in user testing! Even with youngsters.

A professional web designer’s challenge is to make the text legible AND the design awesome.

Commandment III: Make Clear Unto Thy Users Their Selections

If the user takes action or makes a selection, the interface should provide feedback
about what they did. This includes clicking links, checking boxes, adding things to
carts, submitting forms, and so on. Tell the user they’ve succeeded or failed, and if
they’ve failed, tell them what EXPLICITLY they must do to succeed.

Commandment IV: Reveal Thine Hyperlinks!

Consistency is a user’s best friend. Make it obvious to users which text or images
are linked and which are not linked. The user should be able to guess correctly
without “mousing around” the page. Remember: mobile users have no ability to
hover over a link.

More:

http://www.foraker.com/unleash-the-hounds/

Commandment V: Thy Hyperlinks Shall Not Referreth Unto Themselves
Self-referential links are hyperlinks that link to the page the user is already on. They
can really confuse new users – especially on larger sites. Get rid of them! If your
content management platform makes this difficult or impossible, toss it out on its
head.

Commandment VI: Visited Link Status is Next to Godliness

On a well-optimized site, users do NOT come in via the home page. Indicating visited
link status is very helpful in orienting new users. Again, a professional web
designer’s challenge is to indicate visited links AND have the design be awesome.

Commandment VII: Thou Shalt Not Smite Thy Users with “Marketese”

Use “Google Insights for Search” (http://www.google.comlinsightslsearch/) to
determine the real language your audience is using.  Avoid jargon at all cost.

Commandment VIII: Thou Shalt Not Soundeth a Trumpet in Thy Users’ Ears!

No auto-playing music. Period. If you are a musician, or you sell music, consider
offering music that the user can choose to play.

Commandment IX: Designeth for Mobile First

The world is going mobile, and businesses need to adapt. This is especially true for
any site with user-generated content, bricks and mortar businesses where people
need locations, hours, and phone numbers, and is essential for restaurants. You will
create a better desktop website if you design for mobile first. When you circle back
to the desktop website, add back in the junk you removed … if you dare!

Commandment X: Thou shalt not covet thy competitor’s spouse, nor his
manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is
thy competitors’ … including his website!

Don’t assume your competitors, no matter how large their web design budgets are,
have gotten it right. Terrible web design is rampant. Ask your users what they want,
and design your content, navigation, and look around those needs.

Additional Resources:

A great book called Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug:
http://www.sensible.com/dmmt.html

Good email newsletter and weekly columns from Jakob Nielsen:

http://www.useit.com I

Great conference/workshop from Nielsen Norman Group:

http://www.nngroup.com I

General usability information from UsabilityFirst:
http://www.usabilityfirst.com/

Derek Olson is Vice President of Foraker Labs, a web and mobile application development shop in Boulder, Colorado. In addition to leading the design and development of award-winning iOS apps, web apps, and websites, Derek provides usability, content strategy, and information architecture guidance to clients. 

If you’d like to schedule a one-hour initial assessment of your site’s usability, email don@pivotguild.com to make an in-person or virtual appointment.

Have an 11th Commandment to share?  Questions?  Please weigh in below and we’ll ask Derek to respond.

Carol Bradford

Guest Blogger: Carol Bradford, Carol Bradford Design

When so much business is conducted on the web and via social media, is there still a need for a printed business card? I say: definitely!  The virtual world is dynamic but humans still crave in-person contact. When you have the opportunity to meet a potential client face-to-face, your best tools are your ears (be a good listener!) and  a business card – preferably unwrinkled – ready to present.

Your business card represents you and your business brand in ways that a digital contact cannot. Every aspect of the design –  including your choice of messaging, colors, typeface and paper – communicates something about who you are and the value proposition you offer.  Your goal should be to make your offer, contact info and image easily understood by your target audience.

To distinguish and express your personality you can select a recycled paper as a sustainable solution and consider a special size, color, or die-cut that represents your business in a creative way.  Within every budget there are opportunities to be unique – the possibilities are endless.  So where to begin?

Consider including these features:

1)    Website, Email Address, Cell Phone:  Make it as clear and easy as possible for people to find you in their preferred mode of communication.

2)    QR (Quick Response) Code:  This computer generated code, which you can see on the example below, can be created for free via websites (just Google Search “QR Code Generator.”)   When scanned with a smart phone, the code can link to your choice of website URLs, telephone numbers, templates of text messages – even video.  Make sure you link to something of value to your customer – not just something that serves your own sales goals.

3)    Social Media Links: Include the URL for Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter with your handles, along with other any other social media sites in which you are active.

4)    Blog URL

You may be asking, “How can I fit all of this information on a small business card?” The answer is simple, but it does cost a bit more: print a double-sided card. The extra cost will allow you the opportunity for additional marketing space and your card will stand out as being more creative.  In the horizontal-style example below I used a white background on the front and a colored background on the back for PivotGuild:

The front should have your name, business, contact information, and website URL.  The backside can contain the QR code or a photo, social media links and a link to your blog. If you have extra space, you can list your services, add a promotion, or a testimonial from a satisfied client.  The extra side allows for flexibility, but remember to keep the information to a minimum and leave some “white space” on the card for good readaibility.

Here’s another way to maximize the two-sided design, created by another designer.  If you are known for certain memorable personality traits, why not let them shine on your card?  This vertical style card shows the essential contact info AND the humor of one of the PivotGuild Trainer-Guides:

The number one rule is: keep the design clean and concise.   Follow a “less is more” mentality and by all means, hire a professional graphic designer to create the perfect design exclusively for you!

Questions?  Please post them below and I’ll be happy to respond!

Carol Bradford started Carol Bradford Design in 1997 after a career that included business development, corporate communications, marketing, and graphic design. This background has made Carol Bradford Design a well-rounded company offering clients innovative design based on solid business sense.

EDITOR’s UPDATE May 2012:  Here are more samples of really out-there, cool designs from the UK.  Can’t imagine what some of these special die-cuts and embossed cards cost to produce but the memorable brand-building and accompanying engagement may warrant the expense!  http://creativenerds.co.uk/inspiration/70-creative-and-innovating-business-card-designs-you-must-see/