Monday, July 17, 2006

Karen Salmansohn features 15SecondPitch.com

I'm so excited! We got a big write-up on Karen Salmansohn's blog and newsletter today. Here's a sneak preview:

Have you noticed? It's a busy, loud, stressed out world. It's harder than ever to stand out and be remembered.Want to know how to make a memorable impression -- even in a crowded bar or hustling-bustling conference?Laura Allen, co-founder of 15secondpitch.com can teach anybody to sell themselves and their product fast and impactfully.Here is some of Laura’s magic formula...Read the rest of the article at: http://www.notsalmon.com/blog.php

About Karen:
Karen Salmansohn is a best-selling author and life coach with 27 books.People as diverse as Madonna, Jon Stewart, Marissa Tomei, Jennifer Weiner, Eminem, Jay Leno, Joan Rivers, Ricki Lake, and Graydon Carter (for starters) have read, loved, and hyped her books. Her latest book is called Ballsy http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/158180816X/sr=8-1/qid=1153159350/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-7928598-1063951?ie=UTF8

Sunday, July 16, 2006

The Starbucks Effect

When you work from home, that "Third Place" takes on real meaning. So why is it that Starbuck's seems to be doing everything in their power to allienate me, a loyal two Tall Skim Cappucinos a day for five years, customer?
I knew that they were starting on a downward slide the moment that pastry case arrived. Sure, it's handy to be able to grab a bagel or scone when you are on your way to work, but have you ever stopped to TASTE that food?! BAD. Really bad. I got burned for the last time when I somehow convinced myself that a Pumpkin Muffin with Cream Cheese seemed like a good idea. Of course they had pictures of this Wonder Muffin on every flat service in the store, so they were selling me from the time I walked through the door. I've had food poisoning twice in my life and the Pumpkin Muffin takes a Third Place Honorary Mention for the havok it wreaked.

I saw a 60 Minutes interview with Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and he spent a lot of time showing us around the Magical Lair where his workers create things like the Pomegranite Frappucinno and some Coconut Bananna thing which immediately reminded me of the Pumpkin Muffin so I was smart enough to steer clear of that. I believe he said that there are something like 150,00 different combinations of drink choices available. That's great, but is it NECESSARY? When the local barrista sees me on the corner, before I've even opened the door to the shop, he or she is already making my Tall Skim Cappucino. WHY? Because that is the drink I ALWAYS get. I'd bet that 90% of the people I see everyday at Starbuck's get the SAME drink each and every day. It's easier that way. I made my drink choice 5 years ago and for the most part, I'm stiking to it. The problem is that when the barristas are so busy trying to make that 1/2 Pomegranite 1/2 Bananna Coconut, extra ice, light whip, bubble lid, with jumbo straw SMOOTHIE it's cutting into their time and making it harder for them to give me what I came for; yummy, expensive coffee and a nice enough place to sip it.

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Disrupt Your Thoughts

Disruptive Thoughts is one of my favorite blogs.
http://disruptivethoughts.com

Fraser Kelton is a young entrepreneur in Canada who shares his ideas on start-up strategey: innovation, commercialization and Venture Capital. I don't know much about any of these topics so it's good for me to read his blog. We even did a 15SecondPitch http://www.15SecondPitch.com together awhile back that I'll have to share with you in the future. I enjoyed Fraser's blog so much that I finally decided to create my own blog. I have only ONE rule for myself though, no stories about blisters. When I first started looking at blogs I was amazed at the sheer volume, the massive amount of CONTENT. So much to say about everything. It was overwhelming. I finally hit brain overload as I sat reading about the blisters one woman got from her cowboy boots. I'll have to find a link back to that blog for you.

Zaadz--online Utopia

I've found my new online utopia and it's called http://www.zaadz.com
How do I love this website? Let me count that ways! The design and interface are nice and intuitive. It's fun how they let you know their members favorite books, films and teachers on their home page. And my favorite part about the site is that CEO Brian Johnson http://brian.zaadz.com very up front about their wish to make money.
This is important because I don't want to spend my time and energy on a site that has no future and a site with no business model has NO FUTURE.
I'm testing out a concept that I am calling The Zen Pitch. The Zen Pitch, as the name implies, has to do with the idea of having an easy, compelling and AUTHENTIC way to market yourself. Selling and promoting doesn't have to be sleazy, desceptive and cold. It just sometimes turns out that way, usally when someone's bank account is running close to empty. But enough typing about my new best friend a.k.a social networking with a purpose site, go check it out yourself. And here's my LauraZenPitch profile. http://zenpitch.zaadz.com You'll probably need to create an account and log in to see me, but it's worth the trip.