Yellow Dog Consulting

Sales & Marketing Consulting for solo-preneurs.

Pay Attention

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Chocolate cake, candied cranberries, & caramel buttercream.

On Friday, the most beautiful cake was delivered from a baker friend of mine (you really should get a friend who’s a baker, it’s awesome!) as a thank you gift. While this blog post IS to brag about the amazing cake, it’s also a great lesson in paying attention…

A couple of weeks ago she tweeted that she’d been laid off from her job. Big bummer, right before the holidays, never a good thing. I re-tweeted her post to my network, and within a few minutes, a friend of mine saw it and asked if she’d be interested in getting connected with Zaarly Storefront which is launching at the end of the month here in Seattle!

it’s the PERFECT match! She gets a photo shoot of all her delicious baked goods, they have a fantastic baker to promote (a very popular Zaarly Storefront Service), and as a thank you, I get to eat an entire cake!

The Lesson here? Pay attention. Keep an eye on what friends and those in your network are saying. Share it with others in your network, you never know who you might be helping out!

2012 Entrepreneur University- Nov. 9th!

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Hot from the press comes NWEN’s 2012 Entrepreneur University lineup, including keynotes:

·   Richard Tait – The serial entrepreneur and product-launching mastermind behind Cranium, BoomBoom Brands, and Golazo.

·   Molly Neitzel – Local entrepreneur and ice cream mogul behind Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream. And,

·   Phil Gordon – Entrepreneur, poker player, author, and philanthropist behind Jawfish Games.

Come for stories of successes, lesson and best practices, brand building in a local market, and more. Check out the speakers and session topics for this year – Everything from:

·   Launching your startup (e.g. Top 10 checklist and customer validation),

·   Running your startup (e.g. Top 10 checklist and running lean), and

·   Trending topics (e.g. Gamification and the great Crowdfunding debate).

This one-day boot camp for entrepreneurs is open to all novice entrepreneurs, savvy startups, growing companies, and university students (*special* discount for students – 80% off – through the Herbert B. Jones Foundation Scholarship).

Tickets are $159 (NO membership required, only a login), $179 at the door. Grab a partner and come on down to Bell Harbor on Friday, November 9th for EU2012. More information at http://bit.ly/EU2012 .

I’m on Twitter, Now What?

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I met with a new client yesterday and they are busy getting their product ready to launch at the end of the month. They have a Twitter account but aren’t using it consistently. We talked yesterday about this, and the question was “what do I say?”
Here’s three quick pointers for running your Twitter:

1. Know your company culture. It’s easy when it’s just one person calling the shots, but if you’re on a team, have a conversation about what’s OK to say on Twitter and what’s not. Are you OK with posting about adult beverages you may be consuming at a team meeting? Politics? swearing? Commentary on current events? Have this conversation.

2. Be Consistent. I always tell clients (and really anyone) don’t do what you won’t do. If you sign up for a Twitter account, USE IT. There’s nothing worse than ignoring your account, people may be talking about you!

3. Respond! Make sure to keep an eye on who might be talking to you and respond to them! If someone thanks you for your awesome product, thank them back! I just tweeted with a company that I bought a gift from for my brother. They tweeted me back yesterday saying they’re throwing in an extra surprise for him because of my Twitter love. Stickers, a free drink, an extra Bow Tie, it doesn’t have to be big, just be gracious.