- March 20, 2019 -

I am probably up there with the most grammar and spelling challenged persons on the planet.

But I can still appreciate these woops from brand names - see if you can spot 'em:

H&M Spelling Oops...not too "smart."

Miller makes a billboard-sized spelling blunder.

McDonalds...awkward.

Turns out that Coke makes four times fewer writing mistakes than Pepsi in its posts on LinkedIn. And General Motors makes two-and-a-half more writing mistakes than Ford.

And it turns out that being a perfectionist in grammar and syntax doesn’t amount to much more than a hill of beans when it [...]

- February 28, 2019 -

I'm sick of my kitchen.

It's over thirty years old. There's nothing wrong with it - it's just outdated and needs an upgrade.

So I brought in one guy. He wanted to rip out drywall, change the whole flow of the kitchen. Great ideas. At the tune of...well, lots of zeros.

I'm visual guy. I need to see a blueprint and some idea of what the finished product would look like.

It's been two months...nada, zip from guy #1.

On to guy #2. A cabinet maker who came with excellent recommendations. He even traveled across the state just to talk with [...]

- February 21, 2019 -

Ever hear of a guy named Earl Nightingale?

Your parents or grandparents probably knew him during the early 1950's as the voice of Sky King, the hero of a radio adventure series.

Later, his motivational mantra "We become what we think about" became his calling card.

But as a business man (and a contrarian one at that) this quote in particular struck a chord:

...Ray Kroc looked at the McDonald brothers’ [...]

- February 15, 2019 -

Brad's Drink turned into Pepsi Cola in 1898.

Backrub became Google in 1997.

AuctionWEB morphed into eBay in 1997.

Datsun re-launched as Nissan in 1981.

Blue Ribbon Sports officially became Nike in 1964.

Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo re-branded as Sony in 1958.

Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation converted to IBM in 1924.

...all examples of companies who made the name brand switch successfully.

So when the rumors about Infusionsoft changing their name starting making their way into online (and offline) conversations, the insinuations were inevitable:

"Infusionsoft is going under. This is a last ditch effort to reinvent a failing company."

"They've been bought."

And then when the new name [...]

- January 30, 2019 -

The nutritional supplement industry is a lucrative space.

Tell a woman that a little black pill taken twice a day will erase wrinkles and make her look a decade younger.

Throw in a plethora (trying to expand my vocabulary beyond Pittsburghese 'Yinz goin' dahntahn?') of "Before and After" photos.

Add a re-targeting pixel on the online ad that caught her eye and have it follow her around the Internet.

...and I guarantee there's no talking her out of buying a case of the stuff.

And it won't be long before her mindset morphs to "Well, if ONE pill will turn the [...]

- January 17, 2019 -

It was a simpler time.

...John McEnroe was still winning Wimbledons.

...Angelina Jolie was still kissing her brother.

...a gallon of gas still rang in at under a buck.

...Russell Crowe brought back the Caesar.

...Frank Kern, Eben Pagan, Andy Jenkins, Jeff Walker and Mike Filsaime hadn't even conceived of "The Syndicate" yet.

Speaking of which...according to Syndicate member Frank Kern, "Have you ever noticed that all the people in the Internet Marketing world are promoting each other? I mean, we're not psychic. It's not like, 'Oh, I suddenly realize he's having a launch today, I have to nail it'. We all [...]

- January 15, 2019 -

...that I've won the Pennsylvania Powerball lottery.

...or that my investments have made me a billionaire.

...and that Cheryl and I have ditched Pittsburgh for Bora Bora.

But that wouldn't be entirely truthful.

(I'm still planning on hitting Bora Bora one of these days, but that's besides the point.)

The point is that our two businesses have blown up to the point where it's getting increasingly difficult to carve out the time for my rants and ramblings about life in general and business in particular.

I guess that's what happens when you eat your own dog food and drink your own Kool-Aid [...]

- January 9, 2019 -

One of my buddies was asking me the other day how to market their work when they are a "Jack of all trades."

Been there. Done that. It'll drive you to drink, smoke or whatever your vice of choice is.

My answer:

FOCUS

Focus on the offer that will get one RESULT for them.

Not so much on all you do to GET that result.

Focus on the offer itself.

You need to have a hyper-irresistible offer based on the results you get for them.

Those results may be but are not limited to...

+ More money

+ Faster sales

+ Lower costs

+ More free time

+ Less [...]

- January 7, 2019 -

You've seen them.

Companies who can't quite decide who they're going to be when they grow up.

Kind of like the younger brother who has an MBA and a law degree...but is currently part of an outreach program on a coffee farm in Costa Rica.

Know how you can spot 'em?

By their pricing "strategies."

They have a high end service or software platform or product.

...yet they're pricing them like they're a Bargain Basement or Surplus City.

Every day a different pricing plan is revealed.

Or another promo pops up.

Or new terms for existing customers are put into action instead of grandfathering them [...]

- January 3, 2019 -

Every January like clockwork.

The marketing-guru-psychologist-wanna-be's come out of the woodwork.

Their emails flood your inbox with fear mongering, guilt-laden subject lines like:

"The #1 Reason Your Business Will Tank in 2019" and...

"Do You Really Want to Stay Broke Yet Another Year?"

Inviting you to join their "exclusive" group and...

...manifest your greatness (remember the Secret and Law of Attraction?)

...up your game

...get in alignment

Of course with all that leveling up, you get to bond with the other groupies and hang glide in Kahului...run with the bulls in Pamplona...and motor cross in Moab.

All while taking selfies and posting them on Facebook with [...]