October 18th, 2010 1

Have a Little Brass

We all know that entrepreneurs need to have vision, focus and drive. But, one entrepreneur trait that keeps coming up in our shop is ‘brass’. Having a great idea and bringing it to fruition is only half of making it in business. To go the distance you have to have brass – that boldness that allows you to create a great company and draw attention to it in ways that build, boost and bolster it.

Creating something that makes people say, “I’ve never seen that before” takes courage and instinct. It also takes foresight and planning. It might not sound as though this boldness is a good bed-fellow for checklists, but the old adage is true – failing to plan is planning to fail, even for rebel rousers.

This is especially true for entrepreneurs that move forward with a somewhat controversial program to draw attention to their product or service. They must understand that “daring” and “impetuous” are not mutually exclusive and that inviting the world in to meet your business means that some might try to tackle it.

This sense of daring and a willingness to create a rub in the marketplace has transformed many an entrepreneur into a legend (Steve Jobs, Thomas Jefferson). Taking risks has also caused a fair share of crash and burn moments. Here are some good and bad examples that come to mind, and what we can all learn from them.

Oops – We Didn’t Think of That

We’ve all seen the ads that showcase a certain CEO’s face and personal social security number. You couldn’t miss it. They were plastered all over billboards, TV promos and the company website. By showing the CEO’s personal social security number, consumers were to feel comfortable that the company was able to protect their identity and their banks accounts regardless of how much personal data was made public.

It’s reasonable to assume that the company planned this marketing program to be a free invitation for bad guys to try to steal the CEO’s identity (or the identities of their customers for that matter). They might have even planned for his actual identity to be compromised at some point. I can almost guarantee that it was not in the plan for his identity to be compromised 13 different times and for the Federal Trade Commission to fine them $12 million for false advertising. Bold idea, yes. Fully thought out, perhaps not. (Lack of preparation tarnished this brassy idea.)

How about the case of the chicken and Oprah? When KFC launched their grilled chicken they thought – Oprah, of course! On the launch day they had Oprah herself, the holy grail of endorsements, announce free chicken for all viewers through a special promo. What they didn’t do was think through the onslaught of customers who would flood their franchisees, who didn’t have enough product to fulfill the demand. What they ended up with was annoyed customers and a public relations nightmare on their hands.

Before putting any bold plan into action, sit down with your team and run through all of the worst-case scenarios. Don’t be afraid to be far-fetched either. If you want to avoid a pitfall, you have to have foresight. This is remarkably hard for many people (especially visionaries) because they don’t want to fathom that their idea could fail. Or worse, they believe that even if they fail they’ve still “won” because they made an impression. The idea that “all press is good press” is bunk. In reality, bad impressions (especially first ones) are hard to overcome.

Fast-Thinking Brass

On the flip side, there are those rock star entrepreneurs who have mastered the one-two punch of “great idea” with all their ducks in a row. One that comes to mind is the founder of a yoga studio in New York City who had an idea, identified and teamed with the right partners and had the quick-moving entrepreneur mentality to capitalize on a golden opportunity.

The founder understood far ahead of the press that yoga burns lots calories and enlisted the help of a large and well known university to conduct a study to prove as much. He pitched the fitness press with the idea and promised an exclusive on the study to the first editor that agreed to write the story. When Self Magazine accepted the pitch and wrote the story he was thrilled. He had planned that the combo of a top tier media outlet with research from a respected academic source would equal credibility for his studio, which proved to be true.

As icing on the cake, when the editor suggested a video to accompany the story would be useful, the CEO made an on-the-fly decision to produce one and have it ready by the print date. The result? Huge reach through the Self readership and a video that sold out after the magazine hit store shelves, increasing profits and building a new, unexpected revenue stream. (This business owner’s quick feet and will keep his brass shining for decades).

When we have a big, hairy, fantastic idea our instincts tell us to publicize it. That’s a good instinct, but before making a big splash where you promise something fantastic, take the time to make sure you do have something fantastic/unique/worth talking about. Many a startup has jumped the gun on PR, mistakenly believing that if they could just get the mass public attention everything else (including customers) will follow. In reality the opposite is true. Do something impressive with your business first, then offer it up to the press.

The Net-Net

Marketplaces are crowded, and for smaller businesses to get noticed they often need to inject some brass into their business planning, smartly. The boldness can’t be at the expense of the business itself.

Here’s something to consider: most of your crazy ideas are just that, crazy. Take the time to weed through the wild hairs that make you look bad so you can spend more productive time on the opportunities that will make you look great.

Clever entrepreneurs must consider all aspects of their strategic plans and make smart decisions about tactical execution for them. Some questions to ask yourself before letting it all hang out:

• Have I discussed the idea with trusted advisors that will actually tell me ‘no’?
• What are the implications to future funding rounds and my acquisition strategy?
• How does this affect my brand long term?
• Do I have enough product or money to support the promotion?
• Will this hurt or help my recruitment efforts?
• Does it invite attacks that I realistically can’t ward off?

The best advice for entrepreneurs that feel their internal brass trying to escape is to plan, think and plan some more. Then, and only then, grab your polishing cloth and rejuvenate your business.

• Pull-Quote: In a world of followers - it’s actually easier to be different.

• When to Make it Rain (in Marketing)
• You were given opposable thumbs – so use them.