As the entrepreneur who founded Babble.com, puts it, “this is the Renaissance of Diletantism.”
The Lean Startup author Eric Reis puts it, Marx got it wrong: “It’s not about ownership of the means of production, anymore. It’s about rentership of the means of production.” Such open supply chains are the mirror of Web publishing and e-commerce a decade ago. The Web, from Amazon to eBay, revealed a Long Tail of demand for niche physical goods; now the democratized tools of production are enabling a Long Tail of supply, too. In a world dominated by one-size-fits-all commodity goods, the way to stand out is to create products that serve individual needs, not general ones. Custom-made bikes fit better. These niche products tend to be driven by people’s wants and needs rather than companies’ wants and needs. Of course people have to create companies to make these goods at scale, but they work hard to retain their roots. Under somewhat different historical conditions, firms using a combination of craft skill and flexible equipment might have played a central role in modern economic life—instead of giving way, in almost all sectors of manufacturing, to corporations based on mass production. Had this line of mechanized craft production prevailed, we might today think of manufacturing firms as linked to particular communities rather than as the independent organizations that, through mass production, seem omnipresent. What does artisanal mean in a digital world? In his 2011 book, The Alphabet and the Algorithm, Mario Carpo, an Italian architectural historian, argues that “variability is the mark of all things handmade.” So far, no surprise for anyone who has bought a tailored suit. But he continues: Now, to a greater extent than was conceivable at the time of manual technologies … the very same process of differentiation can be scripted, programmed, and to some extent designed. Variability can now become part of an automated design and production chain.23 Just consider the Web itself. Each of us sees a different Web. When we visit big Web retailers such as Amazon, the storefront is reorganized just for us, displaying what its algorithms think we’ll most like. Even for pages where the content is the same, the ads are different, inserted by software that evaluates our past behavior and predicts our future actions. We don’t browse the Web, but rather search it, and not only are our search strings different, but different users get different results from the same search strings based on their personal history. Writes Carpo, “This is, at the basis, the golden formula that has made Google a very rich company. Variability, which could be an obstacle in a traditional mechanical environment … has been turned into an asset in the new digital environment—indeed, into one of its most profitable assets.” Variability, which could be an obstacle in a traditional mechanical environment … has been turned into an asset in the new digital environment—indeed, into one of its most profitable assets.” And the more products become information, the more they can be treated as information: collaboratively created by anyone, shared globally online, remixed and reimagined, given away for free, or, if you choose, held secret. In short, the reason atoms are the new bits is that they can increasingly be made to act like bits. But as we’ve learned over the past few decades, digital is different. Sure, digital files can be shared and copied limitlessly at virtually no cost and with no loss of quality. But what’s more important is that they can be modified just as easily. We live in a “remix” culture: everything is inspired by something that came before, and creativity is shown as much in the reinterpretation of existing works as in original ones. That’s always been true (the Greeks argued that there were only seven basic plots, and all stories just changed the details of one or another of them), but it’s never been easier than it is now. Just as Apple encouraged music fans to “Rip. Mix. Burn,” Autodesk now preaches the gospel of “Rip. Mod. Fab” (3-D scan objects, modify them in a CAD program, and print them on a 3-D printer). That ability to easily “remix” digital files is the engine that drives community. What it offers is an invitation to participate. You don’t need to invent something from scratch or have an original idea. Instead, you can participate in a collaborative improvement of existing ideas or designs. The barrier to entry of participation is lower because it’s so easy to modify digital files rather than create them entirely yourself. Think of a digital product design not as a picture of what it should be, but instead as a mathematical equation of how to make it. That is not a metaphor—it’s actually the way CAD programs work. When you draw a 3-D object on the screen, what the computer really does is write a series of geometrical equations that can instruct machines to reproduce the object at any size in any medium, be it pixels on a monitor or plastic in a printer. Increasingly, those equations don’t just describe the shape of a thing, but also its physical properties—what’s flexible and what’s stiff, what conducts electricity and what insulates heat, what’s smooth and what’s rough. So everything is an algorithm now. And just as every Google search uses its algorithms to produce a different result for each person searching, so can algorithms customize products for their consumers. Likewise, the examples where consumers are designing their own products online are rarely mass. Threadless (T-shirts), Lulu (self-published books), CafePress (coffee mugs and other trinkets), and others like them are thriving businesses, but they are platforms for creativity more than great examples of mass customization. They simply give consumers access to small-batch manufacturing on standard platforms: shirts, mugs, and bound paper. Instead, what the new manufacturing model enables is a mass market for niche products. Think ten thousand units, not ten million (mass) or one (mass customization). Products no longer have to sell in big numbers to reach global markets and find their audience. That’s because they don’t do it from the shelves of Wal-Mart. Instead, they use e-commerce, driven by an increasingly discriminating consumer who follows social media and word of mouth to buy specialty products online. In a 2011 speech at Maker Faire, Neil Gershenfeld, the MIT professor whose book Fab: The Coming Revolution on Your Desktop anticipated much of the Maker Movement nearly a decade ago, described his epiphany like this: I realized that the killer app for digital fabrication is personal fabrication. Not to make what you can buy in Wal-Mart, but to make what you can’t buy at Wal-Mart. This is just like the shift from mainframes to personal computers. They weren’t used for the same thing—personal computers are not there for inventory and payroll. Instead personal computers were used for personal things, from e-mail to video games. The same will be true for personal fabrication." Makers: The New Industrial Revolution by Chris Anderson "The recipe for achievement is a medley of self-assuredness, dogged persistence, and audacity."
"In her many years teaching others to overcome their fears, she’s created a time-tested script that anyone can use when meeting someone for the first time. I found the script helpful. I think it can help a lot of you as well, and I gratefully offer it to you here: 1. State the situation. “You go right in and hit them with how you see it in the cold light of day, without being too inflammatory or dramatic,” says Rosenberg. She made it clear to the A.M.A. that a) having no women speakers was wrong, and b) hiring her would be a step in the right direction. It makes sense that before you can speak persuasively—that is, before you speak from a position of passion and personal knowledge—you need to know where you stand. 2. Communicate your feelings. We downplay the influence of emotions in our day-to-day contacts, especially in the business world. We’re told that vulnerability is a bad thing and we should be wary of revealing our feelings. But as we gain comfort using “I feel” with others, our encounters take on depth and sincerity. Your emotions are a gift of respect and caring to your listeners. 3. Deliver the bottom line. This is the moment of truth when you state, with utter clarity, what it is you want. If you’re going to put your neck on the line, you’d better know why. The truth is the fastest route to a solution, but be realistic. 4. Use an open-ended question. A request that is expressed as a question—one that cannot be answered by a yes or no—is less threatening. How do you feel about this? How can we solve this problem? Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time by Keith Ferrazzi, Tahl Raz “One time,” I say to Tom as we begin to walk again, “I saw an episode of this TV show, Man vs. Beast, in which a man and a giraffe were competing in a sprint. The first color commentator remarks that the man’s strategy has got to be getting out there and running as fast as he possibly can. The second color commentator responds that the giraffe’s strategy has to be realizing that it is in a race. And that is the parable of the giraffe.”
A Sense of Direction: Pilgrimage for the Restless and the Hopeful by Gideon Lewis-Kraus The thing to learn is this, to win, you have to be smart, you have to have a plan, and you really need to know it is a race. The competition in this world is only increasing, and hustle and grit matter. D You can start a new business as a consultant in about one day, if not sooner.
Follow these two basic rules: 1. Pick something specific as opposed to something general. Don’t be a “business consultant” or a “life coach”—get specific about what you can really do for someone. 2. No one values a $15-an-hour consultant, so do not underprice your service. Since you probably won’t have forty hours of billable work every week, charge at least $100 an hour or a comparable fixed rate for the benefit you provide. The Template OPENING FOR BUSINESS* I will help clients _________. After hiring me, they will receive [core benefit + secondary benefit]. I will charge $xxx per hour or a flat rate of _____ per service. This rate is fair to the client and to me. My basic website will contain these elements: a. The core benefit that I provide for clients and what qualifies me to provide it (remember that qualifications may have nothing to do with education or certifications; Gary is qualified to book vacations with miles because he’s done it for himself many times) b. At least two stories of how others have been helped by the service (if you don’t have paying clients yet, do the work for free with someone you know) c. Pricing details (always be up front about fees; never make potential clients write or call to find out how much something costs) d. How to hire me immediately (this should be very easy) I will find clients through [word-of-mouth, Google, blogging, standing on the street corner, etc.]. I will have my first client on or before ____·[short deadline]. Welcome to consulting! You’re now in business. Remember the all-important lesson of convergence we’ve been looking at throughout the book. You must focus continually on how your project can help other people, and why they’ll care about what you’re offering in the first place. (Passion + skill) → (problem + marketplace) = opportunity The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future by Chris Guillebeau Business mindset matters. Business can be hard. You need to understand that, and use it to give yourself an advantage. I like this quote.
D "It goes back to what fighting is all about: honesty and identity. You have to know who you are. There is no dissembling about your character in the ring. There is deception-fighting involves faking one thing and doing another. As Randy Couture said, "No lies get told when you're in there." You can't lie about being in shape, about knowing the techniques, about being faster than him, about being stronger or tougher. The truth will out. I asked him about the mental game he'd learned in Thailand. "The first lesson I learned is never show any emotion while fighting," he wrote me from Australia. "And if you want respect from the Thai fans, you never give up until the final bell. I've seen some Thai boys fight their heart out, for four and a half rounds, getting a sound beating. Then, for last half of the the last round, they stopped fighting and waited till the clock ran out. When we got back to the camp the boys would cop an ear full from the trainers, till the point where they would start to cry. They would be ordered, even though they were busted up, to run and train the next day-because they didn't deserve a day off until they learned to fight till the end." I think it was Cus D'Amato, the legendary boxing trainer, who said, "I get them to where they can't do it wrong even if they tried," meaning he would train his fighters to do the right thing until it was instinctual." The Fighter's Mind: Inside the Mental Game by Sam Sheridan "But one that seems remarkable about Jobs is that he's really, really good at a great majority of important things. He might not be the best at any one skill he has, but he's among the best in a huge variety of skills.
So I asked, then, what do Jobs and Jefferson and da Vinci have in common? And then one of my favorite quotes hits me. "Real artists ship."—Steve Jobs Could it be that the difference between a generalist and a dabbler is just saying "this is as done as it's going to be" and shipping the work? I think maybe yes. If you look at a Jefferson, da Vinci, Jobs—they shipped. A lot. I think the dabbler moves on when he's 95% complete, so he never gets the completion, satisfaction, and feedback from completing a work. Also, by completing a work in a field, you gain some renown and prestige, which makes it easier to get in touch with other successful people, which speeds your learning curve. The dabbler moves on when things get tough. The generalist keeps going until he puts enough work out that he feels complete in a particular field, and then, and only then, is he on to the next thing. Both of these outcomes only emerged from action—I had this vague thought that maybe I wanted to be a painter, but I was never really excited about it until I did it, and then I saw a couple sparks of inspiration and passion starting to grow. Do you know what I think the difference is between a generalist and a dabbler? Shipping. Completing and delivering things. There was only 40-some subscribers the first edition that went out, but it's grown steadily since then up to 219 now. Also, only two unsubscribes total across the whole time—I think that's pretty phenomenal, less than 1% of the people who signed up canceled … so that's going well. The key thing that ties everything all together is to produce and ship things while you have a current interest. If you get into a new kind of music, write up your thoughts and first impressions on it—either on a blog, or even just Amazon reviews. The mindset shift from being a consumer to being a producer is huge, even if what you produce doesn't see all that much use at first. But more and more, I'm looking to build/produce/ship things when I have a passing interest. But if you have a sincere interest, then why not try to write an analysis or critique or user guide or quick-start manual or observations or … something? Producing, shipping … it's cool. I think it's basically the way for people whose interests jump around to achieve lots of good stuff in the world." Ikigai by Sebastian Marshall 7 Things I learned About Success and Business Watching a Man Free Fall 23 miles Down to the Earth10/14/2012
7 Things I learned About Success and Business Watching a Man Free Fall 23 miles Today Austrian extreme skydiver Felix Baumgartner became the only human being to break the sound barrier outside of an airplane after skydiving from 38 km above the earth. That feat was amazing, and it made me think about what we all do on a daily level, and what we don't do. I also thought about how we could stand to be a little more adventurous and take more risks. Here are the seven things I thought as I watched; 1. There is power in putting your back up against the wall - I was watching the ascent and it dawned on me. There really was only one way down. To jump. If you watched the flight and jump, you realize just what that means. If you have no plan B, if you have to succeed, it makes you tackle problems just a little harder, and you don't give up. You can't. 2. Do go if the numbers say go, don't go if the numbers say it is not time - this wasn't the first run at this, he had previous attempts stopped by wind. Sometimes it isn't the time. Respect the numbers. Too often we go off emotion, but as study after study has shown, we are the best judges of risk. Get the numbers, live by the numbers. 3. Just because you didn't go the first time, it doesn't mean you give up. It doesn't mean you stop. This has been in the works for a while, he has tried before. Just because it didn't work the first time, doesn't mean you were wrong to do it, it just means you need to regroup, and come at it again on a new day. 4. Teamwork can make anything happen. Did you see the team behind him. Systems matter. Systems make things happen. Your business is made of systems. Teams matter. 5. Doing something that frightens everyone else, or everyone is afraid to do, and that leaves that opportunity wide open for you. Do what everyone else does, and you then are simply everyone else. Go where other are afraid to go, then use your head, train, get the numbers, build a team, and win. 6. Think big, and big things happen. This jump wasn't just a record breaking free fall 23 miles up, it was also a record breaking balloon flight, and it was also the first time a free fall broke the sound barrier. Three amazing feats, one jump. That was one man's dream that he slowly built one person at a time. Amazing feat. 7. Finally, Spacesuits are cool - agreed, not a business topic, but they are still cool. You have got to watch the video. D Your products are experiments.
If they don't sell, you may stop selling them but those roducts are not failures, they are knowledge earned the hard way. As you test the waters and try different products, remember that if they don't work, they are not failures, they are experiments on the way to success. I read a quote once, and I am not sure who wrote it but to paraphrase, if it is not working, it doesn't mean it will end badly, it just means your work isn't finished. No one, nothing, is ever perfect out of the gate. Set a goal, set a deadline, and measure your progress. Decide on a number, could be sales dollars, and then set a date, say 60 days, and then measure your daily progress. What gets measured gets done, and turns this from wishful thinking to an actual plan. Measure your progress. See what worked, see what didn't, redo, improve,and do it again. D The people who start businesses are the ones who do something and will do anything to start.10/11/2012
One action leads to the next. Good things happen to those who take action. This isn't some simple truism or cliche, it makes sense. The more action you take the more things and people you will meet. The more things you will learn. The more times at bat, the more likelihood you will sooner or later have a success.
The people who start businesses are the ones who do something/ will do anything to start. You want to be someone who does things, you are someone you does things, because you are a person who is reading this blog. Now is time to take that next step. Start your next things. Remember, nothing is a business until someone exchanges money for something in return. That is the point, so you need to start finding ways to make that first dollar. Now. Seriously, let's do this. Go. D This is by the best short summary on how to think about and create a new product. It hits all the buttons. D
"So I asked a few basic questions, which you could call a toolkit for transformation (it can apply to practically any product): 1. How would these products be improved if they were connected to the Internet? 2. How would they be improved if the designs were open, so anyone could modify or improve them? 3. How much cheaper would they be if their manufacturers didn’t charge for their intellectual property?" Makers: The New Industrial Revolution by Chris Anderson |
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