Wednesday, December 4, 2013

How John Wood, Formerly of Microsoft, Became Andrew Carnegie with a Yak

How John Wood, Formerly of Microsoft, Became Andrew Carnegie with a Yak

Link to Small Business Trends

How John Wood, Formerly of Microsoft, Became Andrew Carnegie with a Yak

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 04:00 PM PST

john wood

John Wood began his entrepreneurial journey with a trek through Nepal. At the time, Wood was a senior marketing executive at Microsoft. Wood took the trip, he said, to get away from emails, Monday morning management meetings, and (semi-jokingly) to get away from Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft.

This vacation from work turned into an obsession when the trek took his group to a small, dilapidated schoolhouse.

Wood was saddened to see that the students were studying in overcrowded classrooms, holding 80 students in a space better suited to 20. Even worse, the school's library had only a handful of well-worn books. As Wood was leaving the school, the headmaster left Wood with a simple sentence that would change Wood's life forever:

"Perhaps you sir, will come back here with books."

With those haunting images in his mind and the headmaster's words ringing in his ears, Wood went back to the United States and planned his return trip. He collected thousands of books to fill the school's library. Because of how remote the school was, the books were ultimately transported to the school on the backs of many yaks.

Wood said during a recent keynote address at the Public Relations Society of America's International Conference:

"Andrew Carnegie used his fortune to endow public libraries. I wanted to be Carnegie – with a yak. I wanted a full frontal yak attack with thousands of books in tow."

That first effort of filling a library led Wood to leave Microsoft and found Room to Read, an organization dedicated to building schools and libraries and engendering educational equality.

Learning the ABCs of Entrepreneurship

Going from a massive operation like Microsoft to an unfunded startup, Wood had to learn the ABCs of entrepreneurship. He sought out advice from several leading venture capitalists, including Don Valentine of Sequoia Capital. They schooled him on a variety of topics, including fundraising and how to build a great company from scratch. He said:

“The initial hires are the ones who are going to hire the next ring out and the next ring out and the next ring out. So if you get those early hires wrong, you have to acknowledge it pretty quickly. Thankfully we got most of those early hires right and got some really great people. Our CEO today was my co-founder. She was my first paid employee.”

In terms of fundraising, Wood has built an international network of 12,000 volunteers, with chapters in 57 cities around the world. Room to Read has raised over $250 million since its founding in 1999.

Cutting Overhead

john wood

While raising money is one key to entrepreneurship, cutting overhead is just as important. Wood reached out to a number of organizations for help and has gotten an overwhelming response. Among the contributors are Credit Suisse (free office space), Goldman Sachs (millions of frequent flyer miles), Lenovo (600 ThinkPads) and Scholastic (over 1 million books).

In the ensuing 14 years, Wood has worked many miracles. Among Room to Read's astounding accomplishments are:

  • Over 1,675 schools opened.
  • Over 15,000 libraries opened.
  • 13 million books donated to kids.
  • 7.8 million children have access to schools built by Room to Read.
  • 23,000 girls are currently on long-term scholarships and 96 percent of them have moved up to the next grade.
  • 70% have gone on to university or technical training.
  • Room to Read has already produced 875 original titles in the languages of the countries where the schools and libraries are located. That number is expected to top 1,000 by the end of 2003.

Wood attributes much of his fundraising success to some of the excellent media coverage he's managed to garner over the years. It took several years before he was able to get coverage, but the breakthrough came in 2002 with a major article in Fast Company. He recalled:

“The Fast Company article was such a breakthrough. We were averaging about 10 emails a day before the article. All of a sudden, we got like 300 emails within three days of the magazine hitting the newsstands. At that time (2003), Fast Company was the hot magazine. It was like the gift that keeps on giving.”

The Fast Company article was followed by a column by Nick Kristof in The New York Times. That column resulted in over $500,000 in donations.

An appearance on Oprah brought so much attention that all eight of RoomToRead’s servers crashed. When they were back up, $3 million poured in. Wood said:

“We try to tell a story about the results, because people are inspired by results. We tell very positive stories. So many organizations that go into the developing world you see a picture of a child dressed in rags, covered with flies and it is very guilt based marketing.

We think these kids have an inherent dignity. Every picture we show, the kids are smiling. It's a very hopeful picture. The reason why we get so many public speaking opportunities is because our stories speak to the heart, but also speak to the head. You need both of those things.”

Has your business journey inspired you in any unexpected, unimaginable ways?

Images: Room to Read

The post How John Wood, Formerly of Microsoft, Became Andrew Carnegie with a Yak appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Move Over Siri, Donna Is Now On iPhone

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 01:30 PM PST

donna moss iphone

Your potential virtual staff is growing — on the iPhone at least. First, there was Siri, a personal assistant app integrated into the iPhone to act as what has been called a knowledge navigator. Siri answers questions and makes suggestions largely drawn from data on the Web.

Now, there’s Donna. She’s created by Incredible Labs and named after a highly efficient but fictitious White House assistant in the TV series The West Wing. Donna helps keep you on schedule, designers say.

The app draws from an ever increasing list of resources. These include local traffic information, parking information, driving directions from Google and, of course, information from your own digital calendar.

Incredible Labs Co-Founder and CEO Kevin Cheng says the app prompts you with reminders of your meetings. It gives you directions. And it tells you when to leave. Cheng says the app even takes into consideration whether you are driving, biking or walking.

Donna also checks other data to determine the kinds of traffic tie-ups and weather conditions you may face. Cheng says the app can even notify contacts that you are running late.

In this video, he demonstrates more of the app’s functions:

Donna does not speak to users with a robotic voice like Siri. Instead, the app prods you with quiet onscreen reminders. It’s similar to the way an email or social media app lets you know about the arrival of a new comment or message.

Cheng says Donna essentially acts as a filter for users already saturated with information. It brings up only relevant data and only when needed.

For example, while prompting you for your meeting, Cheng says Donna will also bring up a map of your route. At the same time, the app will also display other relevant information about weather and traffic conditions.

In the future, Cheng predicts Donna will be able to learn and adapt to a user’s individual habits and capabilities. For example, the app may learn your walking or biking speeds allowing it to provide more personalized time estimates for travel.

Donna is now available for free download in Apple’s online store. If you have an iPhone, you may want to test out this new digital assistant dedicated to getting you to your meetings with time to spare.

Image: Intelligent Labs

The post Move Over Siri, Donna Is Now On iPhone appeared first on Small Business Trends.

10 Things That Sabotage Your Work Day Focus If You Allow It

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 11:00 AM PST

sabotage your work

Time management and self discipline have always been challenging at best and are the top skills that people struggle with the most. Inconsistency to plan, schedule, manage and control your time can sabotage your work day, affect your self esteem, your productivity and results on so many levels.

Psychology Today defines time management as:

". . .the ability to plan and control how you spend the hours in your day to effectively accomplish your goals."

Pretty simple right?

Our modern technology and online activities roll 24/7 and don't really stop unless we stop them. They just keep coming, if we let them.

The skills involved in managing time effectively include:

  • Planning
  • Setting goals
  • Prioritizing
  • Monitoring (where your time actually goes)

Honestly, how well are you doing with this?

It’s best to refine and improve these skills daily, no matter how good you think you are at it. I’ve always worked the best with time management systems in place and I’ve learned to take "tech and social media fasts" on certain days and even blocks of days and hours.

I turn it all off, turn it down and mute it.  I have permanently put my phone on vibrate.  All those emails, posts, noise and activity will be there when I come back. Many people I know are shutting down on weekends and evenings – it works.

But there are so many more things today that can sabotage your work day, if you let them.

10 Things That Can Sabotage Your Work Day

1) Poor Time Management

What kind of time management systems do you have and are really working?

Daytimer, Google and Yahoo calendar, smart phone alerts or reminders all have  great options that work in tandem. I still use the effective paper and virtual "to do list" and yellow sticky notes.

Find a system that works for you – that you will work – and implement it. Respect it and trust it.

2) Lack of Preparation

Preparing your mindset, information and research for meetings, appointments and follow up is simply smart use of your time. It keeps you on point and focused.

3) Technology Distractions

Ringers, loud conversations, text and message alerts, people not paying attention to where they are going because they are multi tasking while walking or driving, multiple computers, big screen TV's – you get the picture.

Who can get anything done under those conditions?

4) Being Undisciplined With Time Blocking

Making the most of the time you have with people is precious, because we are all time starved. Know what your goals are, create an agenda for all your calls, meetings and meet ups.

But by all means – leave room for the random.

5) Too Many Browsers Open

This reminds me of being in Times Square in NYC. Way too many things going on at the same time that are stimulating and compete for and grab our attention away from things we are supposed to be working on.

Close browser tabs that are not pertinent to what you are working on at the moment and they will be less of a lure.

6) Keeping Your Cell Phone Ringer On

The sounds of our everyday life sadly include way too many ringtones and alerts, but they are here to stay. Turn them to vibrate, mute or off during certain times.

I can't believe that announcements have to be made about "please turn your cell phone on vibrate or off?” How ironic.

7) Not Qualifying People Who Contact You

Just because someone calls you or emails you doesn't mean you should or need to contact them back.

Case in point, I got on a PR database and started getting mass press releases daily from agency's and people on topics I didn't care about. More importantly, that I didn't know. I spent a fair amount of time researching to find the company and then contacted them to be removed – and was removed.

8) Spending Too Much Social Media Time Doing Unproductive Things

I don't know of too many people who use social media daily for business or even fun that don't have this issue.

Allocate a certain amount of time to your posting, surfing and engagement – and stick to it.

9) Allowing Family, Friends or Co-Workers to Interrupt

Truthfully, unless something is an emergency or essential during work time and hours, people should respect each other's time.

Set boundaries for texts, chit chat and idle talk interruptions. Or allow them before or after work and during breaks or lunch.

10) Not Expecting the Unexpected

Things happen all the time that are unexpected. It's best to resolve and solve issues as they are unfolding. Focus on and know what important things need to be addressed first to stabilize your environment or situation.

Consistent time management and organizational skills, especially with email and social media, is an acquired skill. They take awareness, discipline and commitment and are clearly your best keys to less stress, more productivity and better results.

If we don't control who and what we allow to occupy our time, the tasks will not get done and the goals will never be achieved.

Start today to improve your distractions with a few changes. Turn some things off, minimize how much stimulation you can handle at a time and mute whatever noise you can while you are working.  Prioritize things according to immediate importance or need.

You can do it. It works and it helps – a lot.

Technology Overwhelm Photo via Shutterstock

The post 10 Things That Sabotage Your Work Day Focus If You Allow It appeared first on Small Business Trends.

FUBU Founder Could be Your eCommerce Mentor

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 08:00 AM PST

daymond john

Entrepreneur and Shark Tank investor Daymond John started with nothing but hustle. John didn’t have any fancy angels writing him checks when he was launching his successful urban clothing brand FUBU.

In a recent interview, he remembers working a job in the food industry while building his brand from scratch.

John tells the Huffington Post:

I was a waiter at Red Lobster for about 7 years while I was still doing FUBU, and slowly but surely I learned and FUBU started to take over the business and I started to just have shorter hours at Red Lobster and more at FUBU.

John is hoping to help other entrepreneurs get their start the same way with the Shopify Build a Business Contest. The contest is open to anyone interested in starting an ecommerce business. The rules seem simple enough:

  • Entrepreneurs must start a business from scratch without prior sales or a recognizable brand.
  • Businesses can be under a wide range of categories including fashion and apparel, electronics and gadgets, food and beverages, jewelry, crafts and more.
  • Contestants will get help from nationally known mentors including John; fellow Shark Tank regular Mark Cuban, online marketing expert Gary Vaynerchuck, Huffington Post publisher Arianna Huffington, entrepreneur and author Tim Ferriss and others.

Contestants have until March 31, 2014 to register, and until May 31, 2014 to build a store and generate their sales. But the official rules state that contestants must operate their stores a minimum of 60 consecutive days to qualify to win. So don’t wait until the entry deadline to sign up.

The contestant with the highest gross sales in each category by the May 31 deadline (or the one with the highest number of transactions in the event of a tie) is the winner.

Prizes include $50,000, a trip to New York City for a face to face meeting with the mentor in your category and a Shopify point of sales package. The package includes an iPad. And it will allow winning entrepreneurs to begin selling to customers in person according to Shopify and the Huffington Post which is also sponsoring the event.

Image: Shopify

The post FUBU Founder Could be Your eCommerce Mentor appeared first on Small Business Trends.

How to Use Free Shipping to Make the Holiday “Sale”

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 05:00 AM PST

Sponsored Post

use free shipping

Want to provide great customer service this holiday season (and boost your sales in the bargain)?

As we head into the rest of the holiday shopping season, one of the biggest motivators you can offer online shoppers is free shipping. Most major retailers offer some form of free shipping on their websites, so providing the same can help level the playing field with your bigger competitors.

Are you worried about free shipping eating into your profits? Of course, you'll need to run the numbers and figure out what types of purchases you can safely offer free shipping for.

Below are 3 ways to have the best of both worlds by providing free shipping without destroying your margins:

Offer Free Shipping for Minimum Purchases

Offer free shipping after a certain minimum purchase level is reached, such as $25, $50 or $100. You can vary the levels on different days, or send different offers to different customers based on their past purchasing behaviors.

Shoppers will usually spend more than they intended in order to get the free shipping.

Offer Free Shipping During a Set Time Frame

Offer free shipping during a certain time frame. On highly competitive days, you may need to offer free shipping just to stay in the game. (You can still set a minimum order level so you don't end up shipping $1.95 products for free.)

Offer Free Shipping for VIP Members

Offer free shipping for VIPs or members. Consider how successful Amazon has been with its Amazon Prime membership, where customers pay an annual fee to get everything shipped free.

You could set up a similar program—either have customers pay an annual fee, or offer free shipping to customers whose annual purchasing stays above a certain threshold.

Make sure you clearly display cut-off dates and times for any free shipping promotions, as well as the "fine print" such as minimum order needed. Doing so will alleviate any customer frustration by preventing customers from loading up a shopping cart only to find they can't get the items shipped free by the desired date.

Use Free Shipping Day, December 18

Maximize your free shipping marketing potential by participating in Free Shipping Day December 18, 2013. Participating merchants guarantee free shipping by Christmas for orders placed on this day.

You can learn more and sign up to be a participating merchant at the Free Shipping Day site.

This article, provided by Nextiva, is republished through a content distribution agreement. The original can be found here.

Free Shipping Photo via Shutterstock

The post How to Use Free Shipping to Make the Holiday “Sale” appeared first on Small Business Trends.
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