designer's block

Good Company

It feels as though a lot of thoughts and ideas are converging in my head currently and I want to record them so that nothing escapes and I don’t let inspiration get away:

• E-Myth Revisited: this book started me thinking about turning Stormlab into a ‘business’. It made me realize that right now it’s a job.
• E-Myth Mastery: although I’ve only just started this book it’s allowing me to see that running a business is not necessarily about shareholder value and obscene profits. There is a strong spiritual component to having a business that is a force for good, i.e. it gives people employment and produces usefulness.
• Small Giants:”Companies that choose to be Great instead of Big”. This story of 14 private companies that reject the notion that massive, constant growth is the only path is a roadmap for what I want.
• Raising the Bar: Gary Erickson’s bio of Clif Bar. I very much respect and admire Erickson. He held his own when Quaker want to buy him out and he created a company that truly cares about the environment, the community, the employees and the customer. Again, something to aspire to.
• Arlo: talking to Arlo made me realize that there is a way to be in the web design business and be different from everyone else, even if the spin is subtle (better customer service, green emphasis etc).
• Kerri: talking to Kerri allowed me to see a potentially bigger picture here.
• Both Arlo and Kerri pointed out that because I’m afraid of/denigrating business it’s probably something I should move towards, but move towards mindfully.
• Kevin: talking to Kevin and seeing what’s he’s done with Slice of Lime made me realize that it’s entirely possible for me to have a small web design company that handles tight, innovative projects with appealing design. It also made me crystallize some of my own core values with regard to design:
  • Smile when you talk to people on the phone
  • Use people’s names when talking on the phone 
  • Write clear, concise, correctly spelled emails
  • Pay attention, take notes
  • Leverage existing, popular software - don’t reinvent the wheel
  • Understand the end user
  • Create solutions that are simple and easy to use
  • Hire talented freelancers

Frustrated…

I’m quite frustrated right now. Mostly because I feel like a bundle of energy with no particular direction. I’m motivated and excited for change but I have no idea what to do with the momentum I have.

Am I a blogger at the head of a performance biking empire? Am I taking my design business to the next level? 

Article Ideas

Kerri challenged me to write my first PTT article and as yet I haven’t delivered. I did write a bio but I haven’t gotten to the article.

It’s not because I don’t have the time. It’s something else that’s holding me back - a general sense of not belonging in front of this audience or appearing ‘publicly’ as the naif.

Still, whatever the excuses, I have to pony up and get it done so here are the two articles I have in mind:

• The Road to Heeney - Laying out my plan to ride from Boulder to Heeney. Where is Heeny? How far is the ride? What I’ve done in the past that leads up to this. My feelings about it moving forward. How I’m going to train for it (Ward 150) etc.
• The mind of an (un) champion - While I was riding yesterday, I was struck by a forceful realization. There are people out there (we will call them ‘winners’) who train doggedly through the winter in the most unpleasant circumstances, getting up at dawn in the cold and the wind, riding alone in the basement on rollers etc. They deny themselves, desert, drinks, fun times with friends etc - all for that one split second of glory at the finishing tape. I don’t understand that. Perhaps it’s because I don’t really believe in the notion of competition, I’ve never really been competitive, never won anything etc. Maybe if I had tasted victory then I would understand what makes the sacrifices worth while. For now, let’s just say that I do not possess the champion’s mindset. I believe what I was told when I was young: ‘you could never do that, you might as well prepare yourself for disappointment now.’ How do you change that programming? 

I missed you…

So, I had this great notion that instead of spending half an hour to an hour each day writing here, I would pour that time into Performance Training Tips. Uhh… yep, so far that hasn’t worked out. Yesterday, I got consumed by work and today I’ve been overloaded by calls and emails. So, really I’ve been doing nothing for myself again and all of those gains I thought I’d made after reading the Four Hour Work Week are slowly being erased. 

Now I think it would be easy to sink into a funk and give up but I want to take the opposite tack and try and list some of the positive things that have been happening and reaffirm the steps that I’ve been taking to make changes in my life. (WARNING: this list is going to appear wide-ranging and scattered to the outsider, but to me it is part of a cohesive whole):

• New windows in the basement. This falls into the category of ‘putting it out there’. We found someone who would install new egress windows in the basement where I work, thereby making it a much more appealing space to be 8 hours a day. We couldn’t afford it though so we asked him if he would trade for a web site. He said yes. Now I have a really awesome working environment that I’m excited to be in each day.
• Searching for a Mentor. Things have not been entirely dormant with PTT. I’m searching for someone in the publishing industry who can mentor me through what it takes to be a managing editor and get the articles rolling in.
• Firing a programming contractor for Stormlab who didn’t work out even though it put me in a couple of uncomfortable situations with clients.
• Searching for and finding a replacement contractor who is a HUGE improvement
• In a way, I ‘failed’ in the hiring of the first contractor - but I learned from it and was able to hire a better programmer the second time around. 
• I’m also starting to see how it would be possible (in the mode of the E-myth) to move towards a business where I hire people to do the technician work while I work as the entrepreneur and manager)
• E-Myth Webinar. I am trying to take positive steps in line with what I’ve been reading about the E-Myth. I signed up for their free webinar to learn more about how I can adapt that philosophy to my business(es)

Business Strategy

Reading the ‘E-Myth’ I suddenly have a far greater understanding of what it takes to run a business. None of it is new, but up until now I’ve thought - “it’s just me and Bryan, why do I need an org chart”?

I’m going to try and do things right with PTT (Performance Training Tips). That means I am going to think about the Primary Aim of the business and work backwards from there filling in all the details.

Primary Aim

I want PTT to become like Envato, the blogging empire serving creatives. They have five blog magazines, a bunch of template and stock portals, a publishing house. 

Here’s what PTT is going to become:

• PTT itself will become a widely read and critical resource for an under-served niche of riders (18-55) who are serious about riding and possibly competing. It could be men or women. They come to PTT to get articles, tips and camaraderie from like minded folk. This information is pitched a little higher than Bicycling but it’s not as intense as working with Dirk Friel or Chris Carmichael. 
• Once the blog part is in place there is a steady revenue stream from advertising. This is supplemented by sales of spinning podcasts and ebooks on training, nutrition, mechanics, bike fit, endurance, power, stretching, cross training, performance etc. 
• As soon as we have successfully established a presence for biking, we do the same for running. Once that is going, we move into triathlon, swimming, adventure racing, cross-country skiing etc.
• Beyond that, there might be training camps, DVDs customized training calendars, web apps that put Training Peaks to shame etc

Who does what?

CEO

• To implement the strategic goals and objectives of the organization
• To give direction and leadership toward the achievement of the organization’s philosophy, mission, strategy, and its annual goals and objectives
• Board Administration and Support - Supports operations and administration of Board by advising and informing Board members, interfacing between Board and staff, and supporting Board’s evaluation of chief executive
• Program, Product and Service Delivery - Oversees design, marketing, promotion, delivery and quality of programs, products and services
• Financial, Tax, Risk and Facilities Management - Recommends yearly budget for Board approval and prudently manages organization’s resources within those budget guidelines according to current laws and regulations
• Human Resource Management - Effectively manages the human resources of the organization according to authorized personnel policies and procedures that fully conform to current laws and regulations
• Community and Public Relations - Assures the organization and its mission, programs, products and services are consistently presented in strong, positive image to relevant stakeholders
• Fundraising - Oversees fundraising planning and implementation, including identifying resource requirements, researching funding sources, establishing strategies to approach funders, submitting proposals and administrating fundraising records and documentation

COO

Me

Responsibilities

• To implement the strategic goals and objectives of the organization
• To give direction and leadership toward the achievement of the organization’s philosophy, mission, strategy, and its annual goals and objectives
• Program, Product and Service Delivery - Oversees design, marketing, promotion, delivery and quality of programs, products and services
• Financial, Tax, Risk and Facilities Management - Recommends yearly budget and prudently manages organization’s resources within those budget guidelines according to current laws and regulations
• Human Resource Management - Effectively manages the human resources of the organization according to authorized personnel policies and procedures that fully conform to current laws and regulations
• Community and Public Relations - Assures the organization and its mission, programs, products and services are consistently presented in strong, positive image to relevant stakeholders
• Fundraising - Oversees fundraising planning and implementation, including identifying resource requirements, researching funding sources, establishing strategies to approach funders, submitting proposals and administrating fundraising records and documentation
• Profitably manage growth and future expansion plans 
• Plan and Execute for the Short/Medium and Long Range horizons 
• Consolidate all business units and shared services into one cohesive unit 
• Integrate newly acquired entities and capabilities into one organization 
• Lower Cost through optimization of People, Processes, Technologies 
• Squarely meet and overcome operational challenges 
• Replicate Best Practices across business units/entities/acquisitions 
• Succession Planning for CEO (for crises that cannot be planned for) 

Within the Client Dimension: 

• To accomplish market dominance from present market leadership 
• To plan, build and deliver even greater value to customers/partners 
• To improve profitability of existing client contracts thru price revisions 
• To win new profitable business in new markets/new geographies 

• Provide inspirational people leadership for the Management & Employees 
• Integrate People through Vision, Mission, Values and Org Structure 
• Manage day to day operations through effective action oriented approach 
• Ability to build Managers, Domain Competencies and unleash Innovation 

• Ability to build a trust based relationship with the CEO 
• Ability to collaborate with a Founder CEO if CEO is Founder or 
• Ability to collaborate with a Professional CEO (as the case may be) 

Director of Sales and Marketing

Me

Responsibilities

• Senior sales manager in charge of all sales activities, departments and personnel involved in Sales and Marketing for the Company.
• Provides leadership to the day-to-day operations of the sales department, while maintaining focus on the company’s strategic goals. 
• Member of the Company’s Senior Executive Staff.
• Reports to the Chief Executive Officer/President.
• Analyze sales statistics to determine business growth potential.
• Establishes performance goals for all sales department employees, and monitors performance on a continual basis.
• Oversees all hiring, training and firing of personnel involved in Sales and Marketing.
• Develops, or participates with the Senior Staff, in the development of the Strategic Marketing Plan for the Company.
• Directs department(s) to achieve objectives established in the Company’s Strategic Plan. 
• Coordinates sales operations with all other departments/divisions of the Company.
• Develops and/or maintains and improves business relations with all customers of the Company
• Seeks out and targets new customers and new sales opportunities, initiates action plan to approach and secure new business for the Company
• Senior responsibility for all Trade Accounts Receivables.  Monitors A/R aging on a proactive basis with his personnel, coordinates with Credit Manager and Accounts Receivable Manager/Controller.

Features Editor

Me

Responsibilities

• generating topics for articles and encouraging writers to do the same;
• holding regular (virtual?) meetings where new ideas are generated;
• deciding which articles will appear in when;
• managing a team of staff and freelance feature writers;
• commissioning an in-house or freelance writer to write a feature;
• sending out briefs for work to writers (with a detailed summary of what is needed, the deadline, word count and fee, etc);
• editing features and ensuring they are good enough to publish – this may include sending work back to the writer with queries or a request for a rewrite;
• occasionally, researching and rewriting features/sections;
• contributing to art desk and production desk discussions around format and illustrations;
• proofreading all pages 
• maintaining and raising the profile of the blog;
• networking with others in the industry;
• posting comments on other blogs;
• attending seminars, conferences and trade fairs

Writer

Jeff, Mo, Me

Responsibilities

• generating articles

The E-Myth

Now that I’ve finished The Four Hour Work Week it’s gotten me thinking about the business and just what I’m doing for a living - my purpose in life. I stumbled across ‘The E-Myth’ by Michael Gerber at the library and so far it’s been really eye opening. I’m about two thirds of the way through it and a lot of what I’m reading makes sense to me. 

First though, I want to quote Seth Godin (again!):

“The top of a mountain is rarely the best part.
You can watch “the good parts” of a baseball game in about six minutes. The web has become a giant highlights reel… the best parts of SNL, the best parts of a speech, the best parts of a book.
We can skim really fast now. This is a problem for marketers, because it means that if they don’t make the good parts easily findable and accessible (and bold and loud and memorable) then the whole product becomes invisible.
As consumers of information, though, I wonder if the best parts are really the best parts. Yes, you can read a summary of a book instead of a book, or watch the trailer instead of the movie, or read the executive summary of the consultant’s report instead of the whole thing… but the parts you miss are there for a reason.
Real change is rarely caused by the good parts. Real change and impact and joy come from the foundation and the transitions and the little messages that sneak in when you least expect them. The highlights of the baseball game are highlights largely because the rest of the game got you ready for them.
Don’t skip that page, it’s there for a reason.”

So, that said, I am reading Gerber’s book carefully and thoughtfully. Here are the realizations and concepts that stood out so far:

• Fatal Assumption: “If you understand the technical part of a business (web/design), you understand a business that does technical work”
• “Most businesses are operated according to what the owner wants rather than what the business needs.”
• Everyone who goes into business is three people in one: the entrepreneur, the manager and the technician. Those three personalities are constantly fighting for supremacy.
• There are three phases to business: infancy, adolescence and maturity.
• “During infancy the owner and the business are one and the same thing. If you remove the owner from an infancy business, the business would disappear.”
• In the adolescent phase you decide to get some help (i.e. Bryan), but this frequently backfires when there is no plan. Employees don’t know what they’re doing and becoming disgruntled. They quit, the owner feels betrayed and the company regresses to infancy (“I’m just going to have to do it ALL.”)
• Mature companies have a plan, they have measurable goals and a roadmap. They have an entrepreneurial perspective.
• “…most people that go into business don’t have a model of a business that works, but of work itself”
• Entrepreneurs see businesses as systems for producing outside results - for the customer - resulting in profits.
• Technicians see businesses as a place to produce inside results - for the technician - producing income.
• Entrepreneurs envision a well-defined future and figure out how to get there from the present
• Technicians work in the present looking forward to an uncertain future with a hope of keeping it much as it is today.
• The entreprenurial vision is wider in its scope. It views the business as a seamless set of integrated parts. The technician simply has the model of past experience. 
• To the technician, the customer is always a problem because the customer never seems to want what the technician has to offer at the price he offers it.
• To the entrepreneur - the business is the product. 
• To the technician - the product is what he delivers to the customer.

All of this resonates with me. I am a technician. I am a classic case of someone who stumbled into a career by virtue of having a skill (art). I worked for someone else without understanding anything about the business aspect of where I worked. I looked at that business and said ‘I can do that’ and I set to providing a service (my taste, my design etc). I don’t think I ever stopped to ask what do customers really want. I certainly pay scant attention to the business side of my business because I’m convinced that ‘I want to be a designer not a CEO’. This book makes me realize that I am a CEO whether I like it or not. Moreover I am a CEO of a business that is running me. I am not running the business.

Performance Training Tips

So, I bit the bullet and selected a name: performancetrainingtips.com. The site is up and live although it needs some content and it’s a little rough around the edges. The basic idea is there. 

In the end I shied away from the BikeDads thing because it seemed a little too cliquey. My intention is to have a ‘balance’ section on the site (possibly my baby) where we talk about some of the issues that face Bike Dads (and Moms). I definitely get a sense that there would be interest in this because of the new Chris Carmichael ‘Make Your Own Comeback’ campaign. They are positioning this around Lance saying: “37 years old, three kids, lots of business travel, bedtime stories, conference calls, more travel…”

Both Mo and Jeff seem very excited about the prospect and are going to forward me some articles they wrote previously for Rallysport so we’re off and running…

Exciting!

Balance

It seems as though balance is the hardest thing to achieve. As I get older, I realize there are so many aspects in life to be aware of that you’re supposed to ‘do properly’:

• Health: being healthy means eating organic food in small amounts, balancing the good nutrients and minimizing the bad stuff. It means not smoking, not drinking too much. For me it also means being vegetarian. That means working a bit harder to get protein so that I can ride my bike which is a big part of getting enough exercise. Getting exercise also means stretching and strengthening so that I can avoid back injuries. It means getting enough sleep. Taking the right supplements. Watching your weight.
• Work: Having a career that matters, doing something that is satisfying yet pays the bills, the mortgage etc. Delivering quality work in a timely fashion. Behaving professionally. In the midst of this there is a need for career growth to avoid stagnation: learning new skills, pushing and challenging yourself. 
• Parenthood: Being patient, being a good role model, finding time to interact, read and play. Teaching, listening, explaining things. Planning fun activities etc. 
• Relationships: Staying happily married takes work. Being around the same person all the time can be taxing, there is that tendency to snip and snipe. It’s important to always communicate feelings, even the uncomfortable ones. Sex is a key part of this. It’s too easy to lose focus on sex with everything else that’s going on but it is one of the keys to maintaining intimacy. 
• Friendships: It’s important to maintain friendships that give outside perspectives on the parent/husband/boss relationships. I think it’s especially important to have male friends who can relate/shed light on work, life and parenting dilemmas - who can back you up and say, “hey, it’s okay. I get that way sometimes too”.
• Personal - This is the miscellaneous catch all of things that you do just for you: go to the bookstore or coffee shop, ride a bike, read, listen to music, go for a walk, ride a bike. 
• Faith: You are supposed to have a faith
• Service: You are supposed to volunteer.

Where I lack balance

I would be lying if I said I felt as though I had all of the above balanced but I have gotten better in some areas:

• Health: Since the beginning of 2009, I have been much, much better about this. I’ve lost 15 pounds and continue to keep that weight off. I’m exercising more and I feel as though I have more energy and that I’m stronger. I’m weight lifting for strength and doing pilates for flexibility. My diet has improved vastly because I’m eating a much fuller array of vegetables and I’m not dipping into the kid’s food as much. I’m also taking supplements.
• Work: Talking to Kerri allowed me to believe that I’m not stuck in a rut - that there are things I can do to better myself (reading books like the E-Myth and Four Hour Work Week) and other parallel avenues that I can explore (blog design) etc that make my job interesting again.
• Parenthood: Being patient, being a good role model, finding time to interact, read and play. Teaching, listening, explaining things. Planning fun activities etc. I haven’t been great about this but I am getting better. It’s definitely something I’m very conscious of.
• Relationships: Staying happily married takes work. Being around the same person all the time can be taxing, there is that tendency to snip and snipe. It’s important to always communicate feelings, even the uncomfortable ones. Sex is a key part of this. It’s too easy to lose focus on sex with everything else that’s going on but it is one of the keys to maintaining intimacy. Again, I think this is something that’s easy to put on the back burner in the face of work but I’m definitely trying to pay more attention to Cyndi and her needs. 
• Friendships: It’s important to maintain friendships that give outside perspectives on the parent/husband/boss relationships. I think it’s especially important to have male friends who can relate/shed light on work, life and parenting dilemmas - who can back you up and say, “hey, it’s okay. I get that way sometimes too”. I’m fairly horrible about this. I have a small circle of friends that I ride with. Plus a smaller circle of guys that I might have a beer with. I don’t do this as much as I should but it’s hard with the kids.
• Personal - This is the miscellaneous catch all of things that you do just for you: go to the bookstore or coffee shop, ride a bike, snowboard, read, listen to music, go for a walk, ride a bike. These things used to be paramount to me and yet they seem to be the very last things on the list. 

Agonizing

I’m agonizing a little bit this morning over the name/niche issue. I feel as though this one decision precipitates everything else that is to follow so it’s important to get it right. That said, too much indecision goes nowhere. 

My gut instinct is that this is a good idea and a good niche. I’m just not sure about the name and I’m worried about spending money on the name ($15?) and getting it wrong.

The bigger issue here is that I’m afraid of making a mistake. Even though I know I should make mistakes, that I have to make mistakes to grow and learn, I just don’t want to fail or fall down.

I read something interesting from Seth Godin today:

The best way to overcome your fear of creativity, brainstorming, intelligent risk taking or navigating a tricky situation might be to sprint.

When we sprint, all the internal dialogue falls away and we just go as fast as we possibly can. When you’re sprinting you don’t feel that sore knee and you don’t worry that the ground isn’t perfectly level. You just run.

You can’t sprint forever. That’s what makes it sprinting. The brevity of the event is a key part of why it works.

“Quick, you have thirty minutes to come up with ten business ideas.”
“Hurry, we need to write a new script for our commercial… we have fifteen minutes.”

My first huge project was launching a major brand of science-fiction computer adventure games (Ray Bradbury, Michael Crichton, etc.). I stopped going to business school classes in order to do the launch.

One day, right after a red eye flight, the president of the company told me that the company had canceled the project. They didn’t have enough resources to launch all the products we had, our progress was too slow and the packaging wasn’t ready yet.

I went to my office spent the next 20 hours rewriting every word of text, redesigning every package, rebuilding every schedule and inventing a new promotional strategy. It was probably 6 weeks of work for a motivated committee, and I did it in one swoop. Like lifting a car off an infant, it was impossible, and I have no recollection at all of the project now.

The board reconsidered and the project was back on again. I didn’t get scared until after the sprint. You can’t sprint every day but it’s probably a good idea to sprint regularly.

With that in mind, I feel as though, what the hell… Just do SOMETHING! I built a whole sophisticated blog platform, designed it and stuffed it full of features in a few days. Now is the hard part: the content.

Which brings me to my concerns about Mo and Jeff and their lack of communication and input over the name. If they can’t help me with that then how will they write articles? 

My initial instinct then is to say, screw them, I will do everything by myself! I don’t know anything about this stuff but I can piece together articles based on what I read on the web.

Going back to my conversations with Kerri though, I need to watch this. There are the things I can control and the things I can’t. Sometimes I have to let go and trust. 

I do worry about Cyndi’s point that this blog/ebook etc is supposed to be moving me towards a Four Hour Work Week and instead it’s creating a whole bunch more work: articles to be written, people to be managed, subjects to research, promotions to create, blog comments to write etc. It’s not exactly self-automated.

You name it!

I’m trying to decide what to call this new bike blog. I have a shortlist of five available URLs, all of which I like, but which each embody different things. 

1. bikedads.com: this is probably the friendliest, least intimidating and most fun of the names. It’s very descriptive and to the point. It describes the niche clearly - bikes and dads. It’s also easy to remember. Could be a dead end if we expand into Moms or runners etc. It’s a good blog name. 
2. peakrace.com: this is the ‘coolest’ name for sure. Not particularly descriptive from an SEO standpoint but it would make a good logo/t-shirt etc. It’s also open to all manner of other things: racing moms, triathletes etc. Sounds more like a supplement.
3. myracetraining.com: good but possibly hamstrung by the ‘my’ part. You would expect some kind of race diary/journaling app based on the URL.
4. performancetrainingtips.com: Again, very descriptive. It’s a little long compared to the others but it is open-ended and brings the focus to performance rather than just racing. Definitely a blog name. 
5. raceandtrain.com: mildly confusing since you train then race, but it does roll off the tongue, is easy to spell and remember. Could be a blog name. 

What about a combination of 1 and 4?

BikeDads.com : Performance training tips for busy fathers