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John HrabeCo-Founder, Atlas Workshops

GET UPDATES FROM John Hrabe Like 91 3 Draft Picks in the Fantasy Entrepreneurs League Posted: 04/25/2013 5:29 pm Follow

Small Business America , Department of Veterans Affairs , Veterans , Aaron Kletzing , First Impressions Designs , Rally Point , Reagan Smith Smutny , Seth Siegel-Gardner , Small Business Administration , Terrence Gallivan , The Pass And Provisions , US Chamber Of Commerce , Yinon Weiss , ENTREPRENEURS , Entrepreneurship , Houston , Risk , Seth Godin , Small Business , Stop-Stealing-Dreams , Small Business News
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I've been retired for a few seasons. But, back in my prime, I knew how to field a fantasy football team as good as the rest. Eventually, I lost time and interest, which had nothing to do with Tom Brady's season-ending knee injury in the 2008 opener against the Chiefs.

If you don't know the difference between a field goal and a free throw, let me share a secret. Fantasy football is intoxicating for many reasons, none of which involve pigskin. It's addicting. It's engaging. It lets you trash-talk with your friends and co-workers. And it makes you a part of another person's success.

Success, in the Great Recession, has been hard to come by. Recent graduates are struggling to find work. Any work. Let alone work that pays the student loan bills. Mid-career professionals have watched their opportunities for career advancement evaporate as quickly as their home equity. All of which means that fewer people are willing to take the risk of starting their own business.

According to a new study by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, "There were 514,000 new business owners per month last year, down from 543,000 each month in 2011." Much of this decline is attributed to the improving economy. Few people start a business if they can land a stable job. But, the overall trend line has been down. "For roughly 30 years, new businesses have made up a steadily shrinking portion of companies in the United States while generating a declining fraction of new jobs," writes The Atlantic's Jordan Weissmann.

There are plenty of reasons why we're less entrepreneurial: Schools that teach one right answer. Confusing and costly regulations that seem insurmountable to people without lawyers and accountants. And fewer people believing they can do it.

"The cost of setting up a lemonade stand (or whatever metaphorical equivalent you dream up) is almost 100 percent internal," writes Seth Godin, the author of Stop Stealing Dreams, an inspiring, must-read and completely free e-book. "Until you confront the fear and discomfort of being in the world and saying, 'here, I made this,' it's impossible to understand anything at all about what it means to be a entrepreneur. Or an artist."

There's even science to back it up. The Harvard Business Review has the scoop on how practicing a skill during lucid dreaming improves performance in real life. "It has been well established that athletes who mentally rehearse an activity can improve their performance, and it makes sense that dreams can achieve the same effect," dream researcher Dr. Daniel Erlacher said.

Which is why we need a Fantasy Entrepreneurs League. To inspire others, who want to start their business, but can't overcome the internal obstacle. To share tips of what works and what didn't. To support our friends and family that are putting in 12 hour days, every day.

How would it work? What categories would there be? Who would you draft first? Here's who I'd draft with my first three picks.

Restaurant Category: The Pass and Provisions, Houston's Hottest Restaurant

Reason for the Category: The NPD Group, the research company that tracks restaurants, estimates that, as of last year, there are 616,008 restaurants in the US.

My Pick: The only thing better than the food at Pass and Provisions is the story behind the two-in-one restaurant. Terrence Gallivan and Seth Siegel-Gardner, two acclaimed chefs, left New York City to cram into a tiny house in Houston. They started with a pop-up restaurant, the Just August project, a clever way to test their ideas, menu and build a loyal fan base. People couldn't get enough of their raclette, short ribs and anchovy pizza. So, they found investors and launched The Pass and Provisions, which combines the fine dining of The Pass with the more casual Provisions. For a better understanding of their long road to success, read Katharine Shilcutt's piece in the Houston Press.

Biggest Obstacle: Free-loading friends like me that eat too much when we come to Houston.

Sole Proprietor: First Impressions Designs, Five Star Service with a Personal Touch

Reason for the Category: The Small Business Administration estimates that more than "70 percent of U.S. businesses are owned and operated by sole proprietors or sole traders."

My Pick: If you're planning an event, you'll get five-star service from First Impressions Designs. That's not an exaggeration, just check out their ratings on Yelp and Wedding Wire. Perfect scores across the board from customers pleased with the invitations, accessories and personalized planning for life's special moments. Over the past 20 months, Reagan Smith Smutny has expanded her one-woman shop to a team of printers and designers. "I put my heart, my soul, my love into my business, into every interaction with every client, into every product I design and create. My business isn't just a way to make money. It isn't what motivates me to put in the 12 hour days."

Biggest Obstacle: "The millions of people who own small businesses don't have armies of lawyers and advisers helping us navigate the changes," Smutny says. "So politicians making clear, straight-forward rules would help."

The Next Big Idea: Rally Point, LinkedIn for the Military

Reason for the Category: Every business wants to be the next Facebook.

My Pick: RallyPoint is the next big idea. Founded by two military veterans at Harvard Business School, RallyPoint lets members of the military chart out their professional network and then use that to take control of their career development. It's LinkedIn for the largest and most complicated hierarchical organization in the history of the world, the Department of Defense. Aaron Kletzing and Yinon Weiss, the co-founders, have already won the 2012 MassChallenge, the world's largest startup competition.

Biggest Obstacle: Government bureaucracy. The Department of Veteran Affairs' bureaucracy has been criminal in its inept handling of veterans' disability claims. The backlog includes 250,000 claims from veterans waiting longer than a year. We need bureaucrats to step aside for innovators like Rally Point.

I'll put my three fantasy entrepreneurs against yours any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Seriously, if you think you can field a better team, post it below.

John Hrabe is one of two teams competing to lead the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Summer Road Trip. The other team is led by the Huffington Post's Small Business Editor, Nate Hindman. To learn more, check out www.freeenterprise.com/tour.

Follow John Hrabe on Twitter:www.twitter.com/@AtlasWorkshops

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What’s it going to take for Internet Marketers to finally embrace Instagram, Apple Inc.’s 2011 “App of the Year”?

For those still unaware, Instagram is a free photo-sharing program and social media network that currently enjoys a base of over one-hundred million registered users.

Started in October 2010 by entrepreneurs Kevin Systrom and Michel Krieger as a mobile photography project called Burbn, Instagram has surpassed Flickr, Picasa and other well-known photo apps in terms of volume, importance, and buzz-worthiness.

So much so, that social media giant Facebook showed its love for Instagram by presenting it with a billion dollar stock and cash purchase offer on April 12, 2012 that was approved by regulators five months later.

Still, many marketers are justifiably skeptical about Instagram’s usefulness in a fast-evolving mobile world. Photography marketing, for lack of a better phrase, is largely uncharted territory.

Furthermore, skeptics would ask, what’s the big deal about taking a photo, filtering it digitally, uploading, and then sharing it with a “photo-viewing” network?

In a word, yes and here’s why…

A Picture is worth at least a Thousand Words.

With all due respect to e-mails, salesletters, and choppy video messages, photographs continue to be real attention getters. Through pictures, Instagram lets you build emotional bonds with your audience and creates intimacy at a level that text is rarely capable of. Being innovative with hash tags and well-timed promotions (e.g. monthly contests, giveaways) has never been more intuitive.

Instant image sharing from the convenience of a mobile phone is your marketing gateway. Whether targeting a new microniche or reclaiming followers in a competitive market, you can instantly present your digital collage on screens worldwide. Instagram currently supports major platforms like Apple iOS and Google Android.

There is more to Instagram Internet Marketing than snapping photos and uploading them to family and friends. Your marketing campaign must follow a few simple yet vital steps to achieve success:

1. Create an action plan

What steps do you as an Internet Marketer need to follow to turn your target audience into raving fans of your personal brand? What kind of photos will it take to capture their interest? What picture elements will encourage them to make your unique selling proposition (USP) go viral?

2. Take pictures (i.e. create content)

Make sure that the photos you take adhere to the following principles:

A. Exclusivity: To ensure the best photo search results, make sure you only post them to Instagram.B. Mystery: Add an element of secrecy by deliberately “leaking” valuable information.C. Esthetics: People are attracted by the “Wow” factor in pictures, and are more likely to share attractive photos with friends.D. Person-ality: If you run a small business, highlight your staff and workplace friendliness. Present a positive first impression of your company that tells prospects you are real and for real.

3. Adding Hashtags

Like on Twitter, Instagram’s hashtags make your photos searchable and give you a better chance to attract active followers. Use niche-specific and general keywords in names and descriptions to increase visibility.

Aware of its place of influence in social media circles, the company is spearheading efforts to keep the “Insta-space” positive by banning photographs and hash tags that promote hate or self-harm.

4. Better Interaction with Audience

Include photos of yourself in action, whether in your regular workplace or out at seminars, trade shows, or other industry events. Engage your audience by asking for comments about a new business process, product or service upgrade.

5. Consistency of Process

Even if a big splash draws immediate attention, it’s slow and steady that wins the race! Add value to your Instagram portfolio on a regular basis to establish long-term brand recognition. Update regularly!

Examples of Innovative Instagram Use

A number of iconic businesses and individuals have already put Instagram to use. For example, the Ford Motor Company created the “Fiestagram” contest to increase visibility and awareness of its latest Fiesta models amongst Europe’s fashion, style, and tech trendsetters. Its six-week 2011 campaign attracted 120,000 new Facebook fans and over 16,000 photo entries. For Ford, Instagram was the perfect vehicle for transcending European language barriers to create a simple but effective giveaway contest that would help it meet its ambitious marketing goals.

Rising UK pop star Ellie Goulding took a page out of the fan-generated Michael Jackson’ “Behind the Mask” project to create a visually appealing video using Instagram submissions for her hit song “Anything Could Happen.” It was a promotional coup that gave supporters a piece of the action, and kept Goulding in the music news cycle prior to her album release in October 2012.

Not surprisingly, Sharpie – the makers of markers and other specialty pens – has put Instagram to good use. It encourages customers and followers to post their sketches regularly. Sharpie appeals to its target market’s creativity, and in return can reasonably measure the devotion of customers to its products.

Recommendation

Facebook’s purchase of Instagram has drawn comparisons with Google’s $1.65B USD YouTube buy in 2006. Some are wondering whether the once innocent San Francisco start-up can fuel photo marketing the way YouTube brought video marketing to the mainstream.

While the jury is still out on the prohibitive price tag (N.B. Yahoo! bought competitor Flickr for $35 million USD in 2005), there is little doubt that photo sharing is a popular activity with significant upside for those who use it properly.

Ultimately, it will be the bold innovators and entrepreneurs who create pictures, exploit Instagram add-ons and use its plug-ins that will secure massive customer goodwill in the years to come.

Will one of those entrepreneurs be you?

For Further Reading:

Photos by Sharpie on Instagram

Robbie Daw, Ellie Goulding’s Anything Could Happen: Watch the Lyric Video for Her New Single. 09 Aug 12.

Dan Klamm, How Ford Used Instagram to Promote the Fiesta’s High-Tech Features, 02 Feb 12.

Toby Russell, Using Instagram for Internet Marketing 20 Jul 12.

What’s your experience with leveraging Instagram for marketing your business?

Tagged as: instagram, Photography Marketing

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