If you didn't catch the NPR interview with John Earle and his buzz generating store on Boston's Newbury Street check it out. I especially liked Johnny's Do's and Dont's of starting your own business:
Don't rush. First impressions are everything. Don't release any product unless you know for sure it's as good as you can get it to be.
Don't get bummed out if you go broke. You have to spend money to make money.
Travel, travel, travel.
Get a catchy domain name. Do something different, original, and memorable. Take your time coming up with a name.
Try to limit/not mass produce anything. Everyone wants what nobody has.
Be prepared to toss out any relationships or hobbies, if need be. You have to put 110 percent into building any company. You need to get your own act together before taking on a relationship.
Focus, focus! Living a drug-free, alcohol-free lifestyle my whole life has enabled me to save money, think straight, live healthy, focus more, and use my time wisely. I'm not saying do what I did, I'm just pointing out that you're going to have to make your company your first priority.
Personalize your online orders. Johnny Cupcakes shirts are wrapped in special cupcake tissue paper, and usually come with a Ninja Turtles or Garbage Pail Kids card. Taking a couple of extra minutes to do that puts a gigantic smile on someone's face!
I love the concept, and I did just catch the NPR bit. Great stuff. How about adding "have a sense of humor", he has so much fun with it.
BTW here's a little post I did on johnny cupcakes, and i even bought the shirt:
http://blog.experiencecurve.com/archives/fun-from-tcritic
BTW check out the packageing that the t-shirt arrives in:
http://flickr.com/photos/karllong/158246427/
Karl
Posted by: Karl Long | August 21, 2006 at 09:25 AM
Karl -
As always, you're ahead of the curve! I love the design of your shirt.
Posted by: John | August 21, 2006 at 09:12 PM
Oh, I just remembered, that particular design was ripped off by urban outfitters, johnny had sent them some designs and they stole the concepts:
http://urbncounterfeiters.blogspot.com/2006/01/urban-outfitters-drops-bomb-on-johnny.html
very bad form and something they are becoming known for. That's like anti-co-creation.
Karl
Posted by: karl long | August 22, 2006 at 11:31 AM
John,
Interesting story and some good advice in that list but I feel something is missing.
Here's the biggest thing that I believe you need to add to his list.
"There is no one right way to start and succeed in business."
Some people do it part time, half-assed, and backwards and eventually sell their company for millions. Some people prepare relentlessly and sacrifice everything for their business and fail.
Just my 2 cents...
Eric
Posted by: Eric Mattson | August 22, 2006 at 04:10 PM
Karl -
I love the concept of anti-cocreation. In fact, I think I'll post something on it, with a call out to you.
Posted by: John | August 22, 2006 at 04:33 PM
Eric -
I agree. It seems like it's more about passion than anything else.
Posted by: John | August 22, 2006 at 04:34 PM
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