Big? No, huge

I'm leaving today to attend Virtual Worlds LA 2008. I am excited, because unlike when I attended VW NYC in April, I actually know a little something about virtual worlds. I have questions and I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get some answers. I'm looking forward to seeing what other people are doing.

In April, it was just me. This time, five Tandemites are attending. In April, I had just a glimmer of what we might do with virtual worlds. Now we have a demo of our first product, and a verbal commitment on our first sale of that product.

In April I thought that Tandem could really become big. Now I know we'll be huge.

And no one sees us coming...

Oh, Twitter

So a month after I lost Twittering ability on my old account, I've finally decided to just open a new account. I am annoyed, but I liked tweeting and I missed following what others were doing. So I've given in, since the Twitter help desk was NO help at all.

If you'd like, I'd encourage you to follow me on Twitter: koreenolbrish

Isn't technology great?

Finding time versus making time

For years, I used to commute an hour each way to work. I hated it, and after I had the opportunity to work five minutes from home, I couldn't believe that I had commuted like that for so long.

But last night, after a long conversation about feeling overwhelmed with work and guilty about any decision I made (spend time with family, work not getting done--work, miss time with the family), I realized that what I really miss is time to myself. I actually miss my commute time, time to decompress, think about things, catch up with people on the phone that I owed a call. I don't have that time anymore and I'm shocked that I miss it as much as I do.

I've been relying up to this point on finding time for myself, or to catch up on things. I'm now convinced that I have to make time for these things, because I'm not finding the time anywhere.

It's about you

I have no intentions of writing a political blog, but in watching Barack Obama's speech tonight accepting the Democratic nomination for President, one of his messages was that his campaign was not about him, it was about "you."

Its brilliant sales messaging. "What I'm selling, I'm not selling for me...I'm here selling this for you."

There's always a risk of believing your own hype. It's much more effective to think about and describe how what you are doing is helping others achieve their goals.

Winning and losing

I hate losing. I've already discussed the competitive/perfectionist issue, and let me emphasize that I squarely fall into the competitive camp. For me, winning, or succeeding, has become more and more important over time. And that has made me more and more competitive.

This week wrapped up a couple loose ends. A few of them wrapped up quite nicely. A few of them didn't. For the ones that didn't, I was really upset. I had to take a step back and think about why. Each situation is a little different, and there were different emotions involved with each of them, but the overarching theme for all of them was that I felt like I had lost.

I have a few people to talk me off the ledge. I think their advice is worth repeating.

* Sometimes when things don't work out the way you wanted, its actually for the better.
* Don't expect someone else's behavior to change just because you'd like it to. In fact, you shouldn't expect anyone's behavior to change.
* Just like in dating, in business, if he doesn't call back, he's just not that into you. If he was, he wouldn't be too busy.
* Sometimes its worth the money.
* Sometimes its not worth the money.
* It's better to be open up front then surprised later on.

So, there will continue to be successes and set backs. This week helped more clearly define the path to the successes and some of our risks for set backs. Luckily for my competitive streak, the path to success is much less cluttered now.

Fast or big?

Can't remember if I mentioned that the first draft of my first book is done. We're deep into editing mode now, but the completion of the book has prompted a big decision to make: how to publish it?

Before the first page was even written, I had assumed that I would do some sort of vanity press, self-publishing, POD option. I've checked into Lulu, Lightning Source, and Booksurge as some viable options. Each of these would allow me to get copies of my book relatively quickly and provide them to prospective clients as a form of education on virtual worlds, and of course, as a marketing tool. Speed seems to be the key factor in this marketplace right now, and as quickly as the book has gotten done, self-publishing seems like the fastest way to get it into people's hands.

So what's the problem? I really think the book is good. It would be nice to actually have it published and promoted by someone other than me. It would be nice to have the credibility of a publisher behind all of this hard work. Somehow, I think it would be more legitimate.

But it will be a lot slower.

I still haven't decided which way I should go yet. Another day, another big decision...

Competitors defined

One of the tricks successful businesses use is gathering competitive intelligence. Industry conferences are one source, as are relevant associations and organizations that collect and disseminate industry news. Another great source, if you can get them to talk, are your prospective clients. One way or another, you need to find out who else you'll be bumping into in the lobbies and what their story is.

I have a philosophy about competitors (if you haven't noticed yet, I have a philosophy about lots of things...). They are only competitors if you allow them to be. Sure, you may be selling similar products or services. But are you really? What you are selling are your ideas, your expertise, your customer service--basically, you are selling your talent and the talent of the other people of in your company. That's what your competitors are selling too. All the more reason to aim to hire rockstars and not accept mediocrity.

If you don't think you're better than your competitors, close up shop and cut your losses. If your ideas or talent aren't as good, your only hope is to be able to position yourself better. That may work for awhile. Eventually, though, the truth will be revealed.

Bottom line, you need to believe you're better than everyone else, walk the walk and talk the talk. If you're always chasing a competitor, you'll always be behind. Better to let them be chasing you.

And ultimately, YOU define who your competition is. Don't let others define this for you. Know what the differentiators are and be able to explain them. And whenever possible, play nice on the playground. It's always better to be able to give a wink and a nod to those other companies waiting in the lobbies.