The MountainWest Capital Network, the real deal network in Utah, will be awarding its annual Entrepreneur of the Year award to Headwaters, Inc.'s (NYSE: HW) CEO Kirk Benson on February 15 at noon at the Little America Hotel. The Salt Lake Tribute ran an article about Mr. Benson (in which I was quoted) yesterday. The article notes:

"What this award really means to me is that we have had some great employees at Headwaters who have done a very good job," says Benson. "This recognition is really about Headwaters' success. That's how I see it."

A coupla links for the thrifty at heart (or those trying to save a little something):

• 10 things you should never buy used [MSN]
• Surviving and thriving on $12,000 a year [MSN]

I love resourcefulness.

Steve Jobs posted an excellent article today backing a DRM-less music file for the masses. That means you play the file when you want and where you want independent of music players. Even iPods. From Jobs's callout to the big four record companies: "If [DRM] were removed, the music industry might experience an influx of new companies willing to invest in innovative new stores and players. This can only be seen as a positive by the music companies... Convincing them to license their music to Apple and others DRM-free will create a truly interoperable music marketplace. Apple will embrace this wholeheartedly." UPDATE: iTunes currently protects songs that are already DMR-less at emusic.com. Not to side with the big record lables, but perhaps Steve is up to something else. More here.

As a follow up to my post on January 24th - Here are 4 things to do if you already have the problem customer. (High Maintenance – Low Pay, etc.).

1. Get money up front. If a customer is a slow pay customer, inform them that all future work will require payment up front. If you lose the customer over this, it is probably a customer you do not want to have long-term anyway. If not, you can continue to work with the client with assurance you will get paid.

2. Renegotiate the terms. If a customer has obtained a discounted rate or special accommodations based on a promise of substantial work, do not be afraid to go back and renegotiate. It is usually better to say, “We provided this discount based on your representation that you would be bringing $50,000 worth of work a year. We can no longer justify giving you this discount in light of your actual volume.”

3. Set clear boundaries with the customer. If a customer is overly demanding for the amount of work they receive, simply tell the customer that the amount of work provided does not justify the demands. Indicate what you believe to be reasonable accommodations for the customer and stick to it. You may lose the customer or the customer may conform to your requirements. Either way, your business will be better off.

4. Fire the customer. Despite what a new business may think, some customers are simply not worth having. For example, I recently had a customer who expected us to continually give him discount work. When he would have a question about any matter he would demand an immediate response to a question on some trivial matter. Needless to say we terminated our representation of him. The amount of revenue lost was very small and it enables us to give better quality service to those customers who value the relationship.

This blog post is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice or as pertaining to specific factual situations. Consult with an attorney concerning your own needs and circumstances and to obtain any legal advice with respect to the topics discussed in this post.

As a follow up to my post on January 24th - Here are 4 things to do if you already have the problem customer. (High Maintenance – Low Pay, etc.).

1. Get money up front. If a customer is a slow pay customer, inform them that all future work will require payment up front. If you lose the customer over this, it is probably a customer you do not want to have long-term anyway. If not, you can continue to work with the client with assurance you will get paid.

2. Renegotiate the terms. If a customer has obtained a discounted rate or special accommodations based on a promise of substantial work, do not be afraid to go back and renegotiate. It is usually better to say, “We provided this discount based on your representation that you would be bringing $50,000 worth of work a year. We can no longer justify giving you this discount in light of your actual volume.”

3. Set clear boundaries with the customer. If a customer is overly demanding for the amount of work they receive, simply tell the customer that the amount of work provided does not justify the demands. Indicate what you believe to be reasonable accommodations for the customer and stick to it. You may lose the customer or the customer may conform to your requirements. Either way, your business will be better off.

4. Fire the customer. Despite what a new business may think, some customers are simply not worth having. For example, I recently had a customer who expected us to continually give him discount work. When he would have a question about any matter he would demand an immediate response to a question on some trivial matter. Needless to say we terminated our representation of him. The amount of revenue lost was very small and it enables us to give better quality service to those customers who value the relationship.

In June, Liz and I are planning on renting an RV and touring around southern Utah with out kids (ages 3,6,9 by the time we go).  We only have five to seven days to get in all the sights. We’ve never been to the parks in southern Utah (if you can believe that!) so we need some help. What would you recommend we see? Where would you suggest we spend our time? What would be most fun for our kids?

Any suggestion is appreciated! 

I just overheard a television commercial for a local liposuction practice. The commercial tagline really caught me by surprise: "It's your body, you select it." It sounded really good (which is what an advertisement is suppose to do) but it's a complete lie. Just because it's your body doesn't mean you hold the key to modify your DNA. Not even good marketing can change that. This isn't to say that liposuction is wrong in any way. I'm just commenting that despite what marketers would have you believe, you cannot change your physical appearance with money to complete satisfactory levels. In nearly every case, that comes from within. But when my kids hit adolescence and struggle with their appearance like every other human being does, I'll just lie to them: "It's your body, you select." That was easy.

I’ve been sitting around all day trying to figure out why my hair is falling out at an astronomical rate. I think its because I’m sick and tired of all the crap in the world. I’m in a mood to pick a fight so sorry in advance if I offend you.

SEO is not about computer programming 

I sat down with an unnamed person last week and listened to him complain about his company’s problems with SEO and Web marketing. He told me that he had a very reputable Utah-based SEO company come and present their services. He was ready to hire them when he was overruled by the CEO who had been sold by the company’s programmers that SEO is all about computer programming and that they could do it and save the company a bunch of money.

Fast forward a couple of months and the company’s internal SEO effort has gone nowhere (surprise). I wouldn’t be shocked if their programmers are now updating their resumes with all sorts of great SEO BS that could get them more money at a different company. It’s so nice for some people to have the option of learning, trying and failing on other people’s money and time.  

Anyway…

Programming is only part of the SEO equation. What do you do when you get someone to the page? Are the computer programmers going to write the copy? Are they going to create the call to action? Of course not. For the most part, they stink at that stuff. You need marketing people who understand how to build good copy and how to convert users to buyers. There is no sense in getting people to your site if you can’t convert them to buyers.

Furthermore, don’t leave it up to your programmers to do keyword research, PPC, community development, affiliate management and PR, which are all Internet marketing tools. Internet marketing is way more than just natural SEO, people. It’s time for CEO’s and technologists to wake up and figure it out. It’s also time for marketing people to stand up and start winning these debates. If marketing people had a better understanding of SEO then they might actually sell something internally and externally.

Global warming is a scam

Don’t get me wrong, I believe the earth is getting warmer. I believe the climate is changing. I don’t believe this is caused by man. I (along with many other qualified non-former politicians and non-celebrities) am not sure why the hype is so strong lately but I agree with author Michael Crichton (he wrote Jurassic Park) that the environmental movement is full of bad science, foundations seeking $$$$ and more $$$$ and celebrities who want to promote a cause they know nothing about.

Crichton makes a brilliant observation about global warming in Jurassic Park. He basically says that humans are arrogant to think that they can destroy the planet Earth which has withstood much more than we could ever hope to throw at it over billions of years. Excellent point.

What about Al Gore’s movie? You know, the one with the hurricane spewing forth from a smoke stack on the cover? Last year was one of the quietest hurricane years on record. Nice one, Al. Have you seen the movie? It’s a joke! It’s a two hour campaign ad.

The modern environmentalist movement is about hating America for it’s progress. It’s a ploy to destroy capitalism. It’s a socialist lie. China is polluting at an astronomical rate. In the next few years their carbon emissions will eclipse ours. Do you hear anyone complaining about China? Do you hear the French calling for a global tax on China’s carbon emissions? Of course you don’t because it’s political not scientific. Think about it.

For more on this, I recommend the book Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1500 Years. It’s a book written by real scientists (no they’re not former politicians or movie stars) who examine the real science behind global warming. I suggest picking it up.

Get educated on this and stop listening to the hate America, BS science crowd.

Apple’s advertising is deceptive and unethical

I have finally had it with Apple’s deceptive and unethical advertising campaign. It’s one thing to make fun of your competitors (that’s a bad marketing tactic by the way) it’s another thing to out right lie and deceive. You can watch all their lame “I’m a PC and I’m a Mac” commercials here. Upon examination you get the following:

• Mac’s don’t crash. I’ve had a Mac crash on me and I’ve had an employee’s Mac crash on me just before we used the machine for a critical sales presentation. Yes, Mac’s do crash.
• Mac’s can’t get Viruses. Macs can get viruses and have gotten viruses in the past. I pushed an Apple employee on this at Mac world and he finally admitted to me that OSX isn’t as bullet proof as their deceptive ad campaigns make it out to be and they can get viruses. They’ve got them before and as they get more popular they will get them in the future.
• PC’s can’t communicate with third party hardware. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! Wow, that’s like Hitler calling Stalin a serial killer.
• Mac’s don’t require technical support. Sure they don’t. They never crash! Oh, wait…
• Only Mac’s come with a built in video camera. I’m staring at the built in video camera on HP Pavilion as I write this. I would compare this advertising to a car company promoting the fact that their cars have tires. Nice job, Apple marketing!
• You get better results using multimedia applications on a Mac. This is more user skill set rather than a software or hardware issue.
• Mac’s can’t get spyware. You can get spyware by just visiting certain Web sites independent of the OS you are running. If you are using a Mac to access the Internet, you can get spyware.

And on and on and on. If Microsoft or Dell ran a campaign like this the blogosphere would be in an uproar! Steve Jobs would be calling for a federal investigation. Some guy on a blog post on Info World left this reply to a related story on how he would respond to Apple if he were Bill Gates:

“We at Microsoft wish Steve and the Apple family all the success in the world in their brave and long fought efforts to top the 2% market-share barrier. I mean, every little bit helps us justify the meager payback we get from our Mac development efforts. Moreover, with Mac’s switch to Intel, a high percentage of Mac buyers are now buying Windows - at full-pop - to install on their Mac. We’re reaching a completely new market. So keep those cool, innovative ideas flowing, Steve!”

Classic.

and keep up the great ads, Steve-o. When your balloon finally pops and you blow your users trust - there’s going to be hell to pay.

The best thing that happened to us at FundingUniverse was our renewed drive to focus on Sales & Marketing. About 3 months ago, we were facing a very difficult situation where cash was low and we were needing to get our subscription model launched. During the previous 4-6 months, our company was very focused on research & development. We spent quality time planning and developing a compelling membership subscription, but it was time to get the product to market. At the time (3 months ago), our team came together and made some very difficult decisions and sacrifices with the ultimate decision being that we would work harder, stay up later, and give more. What happened next was clearly remarkable: office doors began to shut (less distractions), the daily ritual of the office basketball break was soon forgotten, and the team got on the phones. It was a spectacular phenomenon: the team was taking home less yet giving more. The decision: Focus on Sales & Marketing. It was the best thing that ever happened to our company. Jeff and the team started rocking on the phones. We brought in a Rockstar named Jerry Khemraj. Jerry knows his stuff and helped to get things off the ground. Results: 1. December was a record month of revenue. 2. January doubled December’s revenue.

The past couple of months have been a fantastic learning experience for my team and me. You always hear that the most successful companies are focused on sales, but it often takes some tough trials to have it really sink in. Most entrepreneurs (including me) often think that they have to have the next best mouse trap. They spend most of their time going in circles trying to make a perfect product. Don’t get me wrong — it’s important to have a solid product/service, but it’s more important to focus on sales. 

As a native East Coaster, I rarely find anything to complain about that side of the country. But this past week or so I have watched in surprise as Boston, one of my favorite cities, turned into an anti-guerilla marketing, terrorist stopping machine. How in the world one city got so worked up over a marketing-stunt-turned-bomb-scare is beyond me.

Yes, the East Coast has endured more than its share of disasters. I don’t think any of us truly appreciate or understand the fear that comes from living through a random sniper prowling the streets (DC 2002—my brother’s high school football season was cancelled to keep the kids from being outside and in the line of fire) or a world-stopping terrorist attack (NYC and DC 2001—my mother-in-law was in the Pentagon when it was hit and is still recovering emotionally from that day), and the precautions you find yourself taking to protect the places and people you love. So I give credit to the Boston police force that took the threat seriously and did everything in their power to protect the city.  But at the same time, come on! Chill out! These didn’t look like bombs – they looked like electric, neon signs of cartoon characters flipping the bird. 

After the fiasco that was this campaign, and the amount Turner will be paying out of pocket to get this problem to quiet down and go away, it will be a while before we see another nation-wide guerilla marketing campaign. 

I think the whole thing is an unfortunate series of events. We all know that thanks to TiVo and similar devices, traditional advertising is blocked out, even skipped. People zoom through commercials or use the 2:30 to get up and move around. Most of us don’t even notice ads anymore. Guerilla marketing is currently my favorite to observe and watch. I love the creativity and ingenuity that goes into a single campaign. They’re clever. They push advertisers and marketers to stretch. They’re just fun.

Well, at least until someone sees them as a terrorist threat.

It’s a shame that world events have pushed us to the point that we’re paranoid. But the lesson we can take away from this is that, unfortunately, the world has pushed us to this point. People are scared. They will call the police on anything that could be a bomb threat, from backpacks to envelopes to marketing campaigns. If we aren’t allowed to take water bottles on airplanes, we should anticipate that placing electric signs around major cities may be a problem. This event will make companies and especially advertising agencies pause and think before they act, which may not be a bad thing. The best marketers will be the ones who can examine and foresee any possible backlash on their campaign. Expect the worst case scenario and plan for it. And of course, now we all know: Don’t Mess with Boston.