Category: Amy’s Blog

Stats show that folks are moving away from the television and spending more and more time online. Does that mean video is dead? NO!! It’s just being consumed in a different way. Blockbuster didn’t go bust because people don’t want to watch video anymore, it went bust because the company did not evolve with the times.

Services like Netflix at $8/month are offering movies and tv shows online (granted they’re a little dated but it’s getting better). You can buy full seasons of shows and movies from iTunes for the cost of your morning coffee.

Then there’s the movie kiosks. I’m getting groceries and on my way out I can pay $2 and get a DVD rental? Why would I make a special trip to a store and pay 4x as much?

Sorry Blockbuster, it doesn’t make sense and when you don’t evolve with the times, you get crushed.

Lesson? All Businesses MUST evolve.. even the big giant ones.

Now let’s all take a moment and remember what was…

and when that moment is done let’s switch tabs and finish watching Arrested Development on Netflix.

RIP Blockbuster 🙁

I got a care package from home today, (and NO, I’m not TOO old to still be getting these).

Inside was a bunch of “cool” things – coffee, books, a quilt, … and a magazine opened up to a page that read “Rise to the Top.”

Over the past little while, especially in recent weeks, I’ve been talking to other Entrepreneurs and I’m shocked at how many of us feel isolated. The road of Entrepreneurship can be a lonely one. It’s one that you only really understand when you’re on it.

– Why do you work so much?

– Why don’t you just get a job?

– Wouldn’t you rather have a regular pay check?

The pressure can be overwhelming sometimes…

That’s why when this care package came in today and I opened it up to this magazine I felt instant relief. My Dad is an Entrepreneur just like me (or I guess I’m one like him), and he gets it.

He’ll clip newspapers and magazine articles about business and new ideas and mail them to me. It worries me a little that he is now on Facebook and has become more internet savvy. Please don’t tell him that you can probably find these articles online. 😉 My point is that every time I get one of these clippings I don’t feel so crazy. Or at least, I dont’ feel alone in my craziness. I’m also reminded how important it is as an Entrepreneur to surround yourself with like-minded people.

Thanks Dad!

I would love to know who inspires you to keep going. Please post to comments.

And if you’re looking for community I have built pages for Entrepreneurs for this purpose:

Entrepreneurs of Canada
Entrepreneurs of Alberta

(it’s okay if you’re not in Alberta or Canada, all Entrepreneurs are welcome)

I recieved some feedback from my latest video blog Ad vs. Ad: Direct Mail  that mail campaigns don’t work anymore. It’s true, flyers, brochures, calenders, etc… usually go straight to the trash with only a 1-2% response rate. There are ways, however, to increase response and have a lot of fun doing it!

There is some really cool technology these days to help you get your message out there (for example, a blog like this one!) so why the hell am I talking about MAIL!? You’ve got to stay AHEAD of the wave. When everyone is running their campaigns online you should be finding new ways to attract people offline. I call it the offline / online teeter-totter theory.

“As our world goes all “Jetsons” the opportunity for people and businesses is to go all “Flintstones” – Gary Vaynerchuk

On a quick search online I found a lot of marketing blogs with “creative” and “great” lumpy mail campaigns. “Put a logo on a key chain and send it out!” they say. It’s true that flat mail = flat response; however that does NOT mean put a pen or keychain in an envelope and expect a high return. Get creative! Have fun with it. Make sure there’s a good story and don’t forget about the 4 key points I talk about in the video:

– Attention
– Connection
– Point
– Call to Action

TOP 5 FAVOURITE LUMPY MAIL IDEAS

5. The Unscrambler

This is ALMOST as cool as the secret decoder ring! Send your prospective clients to a landing page with the unscrambler to uncode a special message. Make sure the message is a little more valuable than “Drink Ovaltine.”

* – if you don’t know what movie I’m referring to here, you may be too young to be on my website. 😉

4. The Fortune Cookie

You know they’re aren’t going to be able to resist cracking this sucker open to see what’s inside!

3. Shredded Money

Not as good as an actual bag of money that’s intact, but they’ll get the message.

2. Dynamite

I like this one because it reminds me of Wile E. Coyote and Inspector Gadget.

1. Trash Can

Crumple up your message and stick in the trash. I like this one because we can have a lot of fun with it but more importantly I found a business that tested it that got a 50% response rate! WOW!

We all know the culprits and sigh loudly when we see these social media faux-pas in action; but, could you be guilty of breaking social media etiquette yourself? Read the rules below to find out.

Photo By http://www.ricksrss.com/?cat=235

10 Rules on How Not to Drive Your Fans/Followers/Friends Mad:

1. Don’t tag me in a photo that I’m not actually in just to get my attention or to try to sell me something.

2. Don’t steal my content, links, pics, etc… and not give me credit.

3. Don’t update your status 30x in 5 minutes.

4. Don’t ‘like’ your own post, (it’s lame and a little desperate).

5. Don’t invite me to ALL of your events unless you actually think I’ll be interested in attending. You should filter through your lists, I shouldn’t have to filter through my events!

6. Don’t use FB messages to invite me to an event so that I get 20 messages a day from people replying. Create an event instead, then follow rule #5.

7. Don’t send me an automated message when I add you on Twitter. I’m not reading it.

8.  Don’t overshare! Like posting pictures of your kids on the potty.

9. Do share information that you truly feel is beneficial not just a cry for attention to yourself and your business.

10. Don’t paste a link to my wall (and to the walls of 57 other people). When I see that, it feels like spam, I’m not clicking and I’m hovering over the ‘unfriend’ button.

Agree / Disagree? Have a rule of your own that we’ve missed? Please post to comments.

Thank you to everyone who put in their 2 cents on my Facebook Fan Pages Entrepreneurs of Canada and Entrepreneurs of Alberta. Contributors include Karen Rowe, Meg Adams (The Media Maven), Melissa Sterling, Xtina Le, Angela King, and Bright Lights Marketing – Canada.

Giving has always been a part of my world – it’s as much part of my DNA as Entrepreneurship. I think giving can and should be integrated into everyone’s lives.

I’ve explored many avenues to this including: delivering meals to seniors; working at fundraising events; traveling to Tibet and India to spend time at orphanages; serving on boards for Rotaract, Rotary International and the Himalayan Orphanage Project; hosting my own fundraising event (Evening for Entrepreneurs); and starting a not-for-profit organization, Leadership as Rx’d, with a team of friends.

This is what giving looks like for me but it can look whichever way you choose. Recently, while I was away on a trip, a stranger anonymously bought me breakfast at a restaurant. It brightened up my day and reminded me that giving really can be that simple.

The key is in the integration.

Giving triggers an act of creating positive feelings – joy, love, peace, beauty – within ourselves. Too often we give, and give, and give and don’t replenish our tanks. Mother Theresa once said, “give until it hurts.” As one of my mentors recently pointed out to me, that doesn’t mean until you’re hands are bleeding, it just means until it doesn’t feel good anymore. Giving is about feeling good. Make sure your receptors are in good shape too.

“Give with ease and grace and be receptive to allow flow – where giving and receiving are one.”
~ loosely quoted from the Moses Code.~