nothing is wasted...when you are small

no experience, no material...and of course no money...because everything matters..every bad experience, every good...you learn from and you grow from...

i am an introvert...who would rather shy away in my own small world than the face the public...but sometimes life gives you no such choice....and everything is for a reason...

a wise friend told me, when I fell down the rabbit hole of wonderland after tragedy struck...to pay it forward...go help other people....every good thing I learned can help someone and every mistake I made can help someone else not make the same blunder...it was the only thing that made sense at the time...

i had to restart in business and life at the same time... made a lot of mistakes...still do, but they don't trip me up as much...and in the mean time...I have met lots of people who inspire me, and challenge me to be  better...

as i reach out to businesses to interview,  i am amazed at the talent, heart and passion of people...

and hopefully sharing their stories can do the same for you...while letting them know they are not alone...you get it...

there is no experience wasted...not one rejection, not one crabby client...nothing..they are all experiences meant to be learned from...there is no single successful business person who hasn't seen their share of failure, off days or...excuse me " what the hell just happened days"...

i was reading a study this week..our human brain is programmed to remember the pain more than remembering the good, the happy....we have to choose to think good.. it is the easy path to get stuck in the pain.

and smart businesses that succeed know that, move forward, the past is to be learned from..great things ahead....i have found the most resilient and successful of businesses have been through the worst of times...

as i share these stories...know that i haven't given you all...somethings are meant to be kept private..and these businesses have to trust me....but listen to what they are saying...their experience..their success comes with a price...and yet they keep on smiling....

and no i don't smile all the time...here is a shot of me in the midst..."so you need to have me be a stand in....i have things to do"..."what do you mean I did it wrong, how can you be a stand-in wrong??"..."oh, stand on the mark...not where I think the mark should be..THE mark"..

small details count...

:) alyse

Always learn from the best...yup Part 2: Earl Wilcox of Plannerzone...and what they did for Apple..

Steve Jobs is my hero...i admit it in business. He believed in not doing market research to develop new products, people didn't know what they want Apple created it.

screenshot of the original add...click here to see it via youtube...they won't let me embed :(

Yet, they did do research, not to create a product, but to market it effectively. Plannerzone was who Apple turned to, because they weren't your run of the mill stats crunchers, they looked at the emotional relationship...which is not always the easy road in consumer research, yet its owner Earl Wilcox's forte.

In talking to Earl of Plannerzone...the idea was to show a person what the  IPad could do for you (benefit), instead of what it could do (feature)...the real learning in the work was that it wasn't about what the IPad did....but why it mattered.It empowered you to get even more pleasure from the thing you enjoy doing. "

To me its that right brain approach, not numbers for numbers sake that you can skew. Research that was about communicating with people. Our success in business all boils down to authentic relationships. I don't buy things because 51% of women buy it or deem it a nice product. It migh get my attention for a moment. I buy things because they do something for me, my latte takes me to a happy place when daily stress hits. A feature film helps me escape..My Ipad, makes me able to take my office anywhere...with out the bulk of a laptop.  I never buy anything just because it is a fad, good business is not built on fads it is built on long term relationships and trust

Earl gets that... as a small business it is one of the essentials that should be in your toolbox... as well as listening to the people who get it....it is an holistic way of doing business...

Gees, I have smart friends...stay tuned...you will be meeting more :) 

:) alyse

in the toolbox: earl wilcox/plannerzone...it all about knowing people

i have many weaknesses in business, directness is not one ;)..when I was in architecture...i would show up to product showrooms and whispering could be heard...don't give her any sales bs..only answer her questions-show her what she wants to see...her yes is yes, and her no is no, but if she asks why explain.... my strength is knowing who gets it....i will never be an expert in all things, don't try to be...I only strive to know those who are..and who get it....so as part of [i am small] from time to time I will introduce you to people you should listen to...make your own conclusions..they will always make you think and challenge you to up your game...

Earl Wilcox of Plannerzone
(special thanks to Earl for taking the selfie, when I asked..didn't expect it...,
that just proves what kind a person he is..details count)     

Earl Wilcox, owner of Plannerzone..not your everyday consumer research firm...and that is because of Earl..it all flows down from the top...his is half philosopher and half theorist with a strong background in the arts. Their client list includes movers and shakers in their respective industry from Apple to Viagra...and oohh so many in between. You should listen just because of that...yet..

what separates them is they are not brand advocates, they are people advocates.....so when you are all  caught up in your business and lose site of the people you serve...their diligence and skill at deciphering the ever changing consumer is why the big guys choose them...a secret weapon. It is not all about numbers, spreadsheets...it is about people....that right brain creative perspective adapted to precise analytical process...phew.....

all that to introduce :) Earl..and really I only had a few seconds with him on the fly....clients first...rambling friends second... I asked him what three stupid things or mistakes small businesses make from his point of view?  ...and this is how he replied:

1. make up their minds, then stubbornly refuse to consider other possibilities

2. pennywise and pound foolish

3. not listen to their customers

my second question...how can people correct those issues?....

1. listen

2. look for the forest in the trees.

3. see a therapist

as a designer, it is all about getting things down to basics....to build a strong brand, launch a new product....and it has to be honest... blunt... take 20 and think about what he said and how it applies to you...

I will follow up during the week on this concept...just remember what makes good business at its essence it the ability to be honest.

:) alyse

Hi...what's your name?? Loco....

Staten Island is one unique place...interviewing business owners I ran across Mike Loco Hoffman...well everyone I met said you gotta talk with Loco...he is the heart of Staten Island...

Mike "Loco" Hoffman (top left) with on the ground rebuilding Staten Island with Yellow Boots...and awesome volunteers.

Well, I finally caught up with Loco, he is one of the founders of YellowBoots...literally he is the boots...when Sandy hit, he was in landscaping. Company was now gone...because the majority of their clients homes were destroyed...

He jumped in and did what was right, he just reached out and see who needed help." I didn't give anyone a chance to say no..I told they you have two choices. 1. to let me help, 2. to let me help..done deal..

Loco said there were two types of people, the loudest ones are normally the ones who don't need the help...the quiet ones, well...they are used to making their own way...don't ask for help...I looked for the quiet ones.

That's what people don't realize either, when these storms hit...it affects businesses too..people were out of work, then trying to keep their house...and there isn't much aid to help small business, except small business loans...

"They didn't think about that, without revenue how are these people to survive..or the people that owned second houses, they rented. They couldn't get aid..so now, the renter whose home it was is out of luck, and the homeowner had lost an income.

Just didn't make sense..

I realized that after three days I wasn't going back to my old business, this is what I was meant to do..

I am still the boots on the ground of the three founders.. a non profit is a small business. I handle the volunteers like employees when they are here, plan the logistics of rebuild, do strategic planning with my partners...and keep quality control.

Most of our volunteers are unskilled these days...but I keep an  eye out..tellling them to treat it like their own home...gaps in sheetrock shouldn't be there"

I asked him if there was anything I could say to help...he said, we need volunteers, skilled volunteers..this part of rebuild is tricky and takes longer..just having someone up on the day that is skilled, can save us a week...but unskilled are still needed..the more boots on the ground the better.

Loco had his hands on 1100 houses before yellow boots came into being, 1500 since then...hopeing to do another 250 by the end of the year..but the number is more like 850.

"We are the forgotton borought, I just heard that the Build It Back released a statement they are going into the Bronx (which is good) yet they have only touched one house here, a garage. They  have 5 million budget for salaries...and get this..I was here for this...one of their inspectors shows up early to meet with the homeowner and inspect. Three hours early..I go over as he sits in his car on his smart phone..Hey we can meet now, the homeowner is here...The guy says no, I can't meet till 2 that's the rule, that is what's in the computer....that is three hours from now. They guy says no, that's the rule..and I tell hime well I am going back to build these people's house."

Turns out, that Build it Back has an operating budget of over $600,000,000.00..I asked Loco about it.

"....oh, what I could do with just a million of that, we stretch every dollar we get to help people back into their  homes...Fema is running out...they are hurting."

Loco is big on social media....if you would like to reach out..give him a shout..or contact www.Yellowboots.org 

Loco (on the left) with YellowBoots supporters..

i am small...the trip begins....Staten Island...

in the midst of our journey...sometimes the story takes another turn.....and it gets personal. One of the main tenets of my organization...Toolbox, is that all businesses we work with must pay it forward somehow, be involved in helping in a personal way...I found a man who is setting the standard...and a people who, literally had me humbled by their heart...and they need help to jump some hurdles.

[ i am small ] our journey to speak with businesses across the country and give them a voice... was to kick off today..

I had planned to introduce you to our first business in New York City today, fate took a different turn.

First of all the meeting with my first business owner on Staten Island... was with Ross Decker of Eden Environmental Pest control and the "executive director" of the non profit YellowBoots- a disaster relief humanitarian aid organization founded after hurricane Sandy. It was just a logistic snafu, I was in Manhattan and he was on Staten Island...He mistakenly had it on the following day. No worries, small businesses learn to adapt quickly and things happen for a reason.  

Ross, wearing his YellowBoots hat, was onsite for an urgent situation. A homeowner was forced to demolish a cottage on his property instead of rebuilding.. or he would be fined. 

I showed up on Staten Island for the first time ever...drove right to the affected areas. I was stunned.  The day before I had been on the Jersey shore, another area hard hit...construction going well, homes rebuilt, lawns manicured...boardwalk still being rebuilt, but all in all great for 18 months in..

  on the jersey shore, almost all back to normal...

Not the same on Staten Island. Ross was there with Stephanie Argento-Beharovic...a volunteer with YellowBoots on the administrative side and the home owner Sebastian Cina...behind them was a demolished house.  To tell  you the truth, I knew I had to know more.

Here I am with with Sebastian, Ross and Stephanie..in the background on the right..you can see part of where Sebastian's property was demolished.

Ross was the nicest guy you could every meet, a Staten Island native, who started his pest control business and then hired on his dad. Love family businesses. I thought it would be a great Father's Day post on facebook..but Ross was consumed at that point with the needs of these people, and he got me hooked.

Ross Decker and his Dad :) you know what every day should be Father's Day.

This was the most grassroots, truly humanitarium group I have ever met. Ross got invovled when the storm hit, his power went out, but no flooding in his house. He was complaining about having no power when his wife Cat told him to quit complaining and do something, there were areas people had lost everything...so he did. Stephanie volunteered right away, it was two weeks before Ross found out she lost her own house. Ross just went door to door asking what people needed and got it, even if it was helium balloons just to make them smile. Mostly it was food, water, clothes at first...then it turned to the rebuild...I am making a really long story short. 

I kept asking questions...dumbounded and humbled by what I was hearing...Ross, a small 
business owner stopped working at his own business for 6 months to help his neighbors. What started as a group called Eden Cares, ended up joining forces with two other groups that had started " yellow team" and "boots on the ground"...and became an official 501c3 called YellowBoots.

Over the past 18 months, they have helped preserve and rebuild 1500 homes with another 800 to go...average cost for a moderately damaged home is $40,000, severely damaged $90,000. A miraculous effort. Yet, the most astonishing news to me was that the local government's own program called builditback was given 5 million dollars and thus far has rebuilt 1 home in 18 months......too much to cover in one shot...and tomorrow I speak with one of their main allies in the rebuilding effort.. Congressman Michael Grimm.

Bear with me, follow this story...and in the midst we will be sharing the voices of small businesses as I travel cross country...

To me it is all about follow through and having each other's back...and to tell the truth, this is a solvable problem..just need a few great minds. Considering Staten Island is the shadow of the home of some of the best thinkers and innovators in the country, this should be a walk in the park.. help me make this happen, all it takes is an idea, a contact or maybe even an app...I am croudsourcing this think tank...

:) alyse...

p.s. politcal banter is banned here, when it comes to helping people, it is all about heart...and follow through...and those who know me, get that.