Gardenpride Conservatories Did Not Install My Conservatory
I will get to Gardenpride Conservatories and the point of this post in a moment - but first one thing that still really gets me hot under the collar is when conservatory companies and their website designers STEAL images that belong to me or my company and put them on there website, as if it was work they did.
When I set up websites like ConservatoriesOnline.com/ back in 1999 I really was a First Mover in the area of creating information websites for consumers related to conservatories, double glazing, kitchens etc. Naturally this has meant some “copycats and of course I have no issue with that - healthy competition!
What I have objected to over the years is the number of websites that have stolen images from my websites without asking permission or paying for the right to use the image.
Indeed, it got so bad sometimes that when I eventually caught up with the culprit’s that they would claim that they had not stolen it of my website but another website that had originally stole it of me.
When I could (as in when I had the time) I would chase up these “offenders” and ask them to either 1) Remove the Image, 2) Pay for the Right to use or 3) give a credit to the original source of the image.
All companies had to do was ask - politely. But you know, a surprising number never did ask.
To be honest I have got fed up writing to companies and explaining the error of their ways, so for a change, I thought I might just high-lite some of the particularly bad examples here.
Take for example Gardenpride Conservatories, of Lowfields, Little Eversden, Cambridge - their home page is currently displaying a photograph of a conservatory that is in fact my own conservatory at home:
SEE SCREENSHOT of Gardenpride Conservatories website: (My conservatory is bottom right)
Interestingly, they claim that they supply a conservatory using 70mm Synseal Shield “Synerjy” profile - but my conservatory was built using Rehau Frames and a Quantal Conservatory Roof.
I wonder what “excuse” Garden Pride Conservatories will use when they eventually contact me about this post - to explain this happening??
Just so I am clear, I am not saying that Gardenpride conservatories are a bad supplier of conservatories, I know nothing of their reputation in their area.
In “Confessions of a Serial Entrepreneur,” Stuart Skorman recounts the ups and downs of his high-stakes career. Skorman launched the online video store Reel.com in 1997 and sold it three years later for $100 million — but his online learning site Hungryminds.com bombed. More recently he made a come back with Elephant Pharmacy. Skorman takes us to the card table to show how business can be played like a game of poker.
Stuart Skorman’s first point — the arrogance of success — or becoming arrogant because you are successful is one that I have experienced personally. Indeed, these days when I speak in public about business this is one of the main points I make. Arrogance means that you think you can not learn from someone else, that you know it all and more importantly leads to you making “casual” decisions that lead to business failure.
All the points Stuart Skorman makes are spot on - for many of us there will be nothing that NEW here - but for sure, it acts as a great reminder.
One final thought about business - one that has served me well is this.
In running a business there will be good days and there will be bad days. Days when the new orders coming through the door are so many you can hardly keep up, and other days when you keep checking the phones to see if they are working, as there is so little going on out there.
Now I would like to say I have some secret formula that fixes this so that you only ever have good days - but I don’t. What I do know is that business like it or not is a game of averages (not too many business gurus are going to tell you this) and truthfully, as long as you are always doing the right things, making the right number of calls, being productive etc then on “average” the result will be one that you can be happy with.
That is why when some days things are really good and business is booming I do not get too excited and likewise on other days, when things are a bit slower, I do not get depressed.
Of course, if things are continually bad / slow for a long period of time, the above does not apply. In that case, you clearly need to change direction. I am just relating here to the general ups and downs of running a business that happens often in the same 24hr or 7 day period
Underground 4 Seminar - Los Angeles, 28th -30th March 2008
Just a brief update to say I and my Buzz Marketing partner Dean Hunt are appearing at Yanik Silvers Underground 4 Seminar
The event is Sold Out - but if you want to have the juicy details anyway - then see Dean Hunts post on the matter at: Yanik Silver’s Underground Seminar 4
Yanik’s events are always very good - pure entrepreneurial fuel and How-To advice on running a business online and offline.
In particular I am looking forward to hearing Eben Pagan speak and Yanik has not one, but two Keynote Speakers.
Keynote Speaker #1: Mike Faith, CEO Headsets.com
Mike is the founder CEO of Headsets.com, Inc. A company that’s grown from a $40 thousand investment in 1998 to $31 Million in sales last year. (On track to do $40M in 2007)
AND
Keynote Speaker #2: Tony Hsieh, CEO Zappos.com
Tony Hsieh is the CEO and Director of Zappos.com—the number one footwear retailer on the web with over $800M in gross merchandise sales last year.
But Zappos.com isn’t Tony’s first (or only) big success. A few years earlier, he started a business called LinkExchange. He calls it a “side business” that he started out of his apartment. I’ll take his word for it… but I don’t know too many “side businesses” that get sold to Microsoft for a whopping $265 million. But Tony’s done it.
I will make this short - below is a followup video - from the Oprah Show - it is only 11 mins 32 seconds long. You owe it to yourself to watch to completion - This is the most inspiring video I have ever seen.
Randy Pausch reprising his inspirational “Last Lecture” on the Oprah Show (Oct 22, 2007).
It has been a while since I have had a chance to update this blog - along with Dean Hunt I have been working on some new projects which we will be announcing quite soon. Visit BuzzProfits.com for updates.
Looking at the blog and my misc ramblings it struck me that I have never gave credit or praise to a man who has influenced me more than most in this current incarnation - a gentleman called Stuart Wilde.
I first came across Stuart in 1990 - when I read his book “The Trick To Money is Having Some” - perhaps the best book ever written about MONEY ENERGY and how to attract it into your life. It was also a time in my life when I had huge financial challenges following the “failure” of a business I had started.
Since then I have met with Stuart a number of times, been on workshops etc. I will be honest, sometimes, I don’t have a clue what Stuart is on about - and occasionally I go of wandering on my own (in the metaphysical sense) - but for whatever reason, I always come back to Stuart.
Stuart Wilde is definitely not everyone’s “cup of tea” - but for me, his wisdom and inspiration have at times been life changing.
Thank you Stuart
I found the video below on YouTube - the quality is not that great, but hopefully it gives you a flavor of Stuart Wilde.
In this video, Stuart talks about how so many of us only CONSUME and do not serve humanity.
Now if it was just about any other “New Age Type Guru” in the world - you might expect the next line to be about how we should all serve - but one of the things I really like about Stuart Wilde is how he is also cool about us enjoying ourselves and consuming - so he just goes on to say it is so much better to BOTH Serve and Consume.
I am very comfortable with that - and indeed now, as I get a little bit older I see my role increasingly as someone who Serves.
I hope you enjoy the video - Stuart’s website is at StuartWilde.com
The Worlds Best Transcription Service | CastingWords.com
A lesson in how to conduct business properly - when a Guarantee really means what it says
I had cause recently to use an online Transcription service and following a recommendation from a friend I went with a site called: http://castingwords.com
I did shop around a little, and frankly CastingWords was not the least expensive - but they did offer a 24hr Turnaround (i.e. your completed transcription would be with you within 24 hrs)
Now anyone who knows me even half well, knows I am not one of the worlds most patient people so naturally I opted for the 24hr turnaround service:
1 Day Expedited Transcription: Completed in 24 hours or your money back.
Thing is, I uploaded my MP3 - paid my $57.50 via Paypal and to be honest when the 24hrs came around, and I had not received the transcript I was not really thinking about it.
But then I had an email via Paypal that my $57.50 had been refunded - and an apology and an explanation that my completed transcript would be with me with the next 24hrs latest.
As it turns out I had my transcript within the next few hours - well within 30 hrs.
Of course Castingwords.com did the right thing - and I respect that - but we live it times when conducting business in this manner has almost disappeared - so for me this is worth a special HOORAY!
Are they the best Transcription service in the world? Well I don’t know that for sure, but what I do know is that looking at the quality of transcription I will be using them again AND again.
The GOODWILL they have generated with me is honestly worth the $57.50 they have “lost” this time - and is a REMINDER to us all that there is only one way to conduct business, and thats the HONEST WAY.
A Special Thank you to my friend and fellow Yanik Silver Mastermind member - Perry Belcher for suggesting Casting Words
The Matrix is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth
As soom of you already know - The Matrix is one of my fav movies - the “sound bites” in particular have always inpressed me - and this trailer video has plenty of them - so ENJOY - but also, perhaps THINK a little - what is the message?
The Matrix is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth
OTO, One Time Offer | First Call Discount | Selling Techniques
As many of my regular readers will know, once upon a time, I was a Double Glazing Salesman.*
Anyway, “us” DG Salespeople had a reputation is some parts of being hard CLOSERS – PUSHY and if truth be known, not really that nice of people. Of course this was a Generalisation and I have to say, many of the most successful sales people I have met in the Double Glazing Industry are the nicest people you can imagine – individuals who care about their customers and provide amazing service.
Ok, back to the theme of this post – in the Double Glazing Industry there is a sales technique called the First Call Discount / FCD – basically a discount, offered one time only, on first visit of a sales person to a prospects home.
Now, I am not going to get into the rights and wrongs of this technique, but recently I have been seeing a rather similar technique being used online, called the ONE TIME OFFER / OTO
In fact I came across a rather powerful example of it the other day.
You may have noticed, at the top of my blog pages there is now a new style of link (called a STRIPE AD) – it is away for me as a website owner to draw your attention to offers / special content etc – or indeed, a place for me to place adverts on behalf of advertisers.
This STRIPE AD is controlled by means of a WordPress Plugin – which I downloaded for “free” from: Pawan Agrawal at MaxBlogPress.com
I was very impressed with this Plugin and to tell the truth, I was surprised Pawan Agrawal was offering if for FREE
And, yes, it is FREE – but before I could download it I was “subject” to an OTO / One Time Offer. Now, I am not complaining, I think it was perfectly fair in the circumstances – and some of the products offered with Great Discounts – ONE TIME ONLY – would be ideal for Newbie or Intermediate Bloggers – but alas for the Developer I did not buy anything. Still, it explained why he could make the offer for FREE.
I understand the point Josh is making - and indeed, it is one many Young People are making today. They are not being “fooled” into a stressful working existance - well at least not without having FUN first!
The other point Josh was making is of course that Dad Works To Hard!
If only I could explain that Work as he calls it is PLAY to me
He said: Here is a link I thought was good for you
