The Dirty Secret About Social Media

With the general reboot that we are undergoing here at Signature Tastes, one aspect I have steadfastly refused to pursue has been social media. Oh sure, a flurry of posts once in a while, but I didn't see the point. Seriously. And frankly, not many people do, but they don't want to admit it. But I did follow the now-conventional wisdom, changed my ways and have steadfastly and regularly sharing content with the online world.

Well, a dear friend (you know who you are...) contacted me to compliment our posts, and to humbly recommend that I not curse in our posts (point taken). Then she revealed the SECRET...

Social Media does nothing for your Sales.

Don't argue. This person is at the very top of the Public Relations game in the industry, and has seen more and forgotten more than most of us will ever know. She knows her S#$!. And it confirmed what I had suspected all along. So why do it?

And that is the other piece that she shared...Social Media may not generate sales, but it does frame Brand Awareness. So instead of spending $1000's running ads or billboards or mailouts, you can target the GenPop (general population for the uninitiated) for nothing more than your time spent. And with the new tools (Later.com, Canva.com, web.stagram.com. etc.), it takes maybe an hour a day.

Now, does it work? Well, I can see on our metrics that people are finding out about Signature Tastes in Italy, San Diego and even Commerce, Georgia. So yes.

Now if only they would each buy a cookbook...

20 minutes to start your project

The greatest thing about being the head of the company is that you can do anything that your little heart desires. The worst thing about being the head of your own company is that you can do anything that your little heart desires. What that means is that sometimes you get bogged down because there are so many damn projects that could be done that all our fun and interesting and enjoyable.

One of the biggest challenges that I have had on some things as simply kick-starting my ass to get something going. And I recently came across a technique that I think is absolutely brilliant from Leo Babauta on launching a project in 20 minutes. He didn't seem to mind if I shared it with you so let's sally forth!

First, I’m going to assume you have a business idea, project, book, blog, non-profit organization you want to start, something like that. If not, go pick one. Then come back and try this.

Second, I’m also assuming you are doing this business or project because you care deeply about something. You want to serve people. You’re not doing this just to make yourself look good or make money (those might also happen, but your reason goes deeper). If you don’t have this deeper reason, someone you are devoted to … take an hour outside in stillness and silence to look within yourself. What moves you to tears?

So this technique assumes you have the first two things above covered.

Now here’s the technique:

The Steps

• Feel your fear & uncertainty for 2 minutes. This is a mini-meditation. If you are feeling fear of failure or any kind of uncertainty (it usually feels like stress, avoidance or indecision) … pause for two minutes. Sit still, and allow yourself to fully feel the fear, stress and uncertainty. Not your stories about these feelings, but the physical sensations of the feelings. Where is the fear/uncertainty located in your body? What does it feel like? Let yourself fully feel it, even turning up the intensity so that you can feel it without barriers, with an open, raw, tender heart. Notice at the end of 2 minutes that you’re perfectly OK, and that you can stay open and upright in the middle of fear and uncertainty.
• Pick one tiny step. Now take 1 minute to pick the smallest step you can take. Maybe just the first 15 minutes of outlining your book, or 15 minutes of calling people to ask for their support. You might have 10 things on your list (or 100), but it doesn’t matter — just pick one. Let your gut be your guide. It doesn’t matter if you pick wrong, just pick. Don’t let uncertainty cause you to avoid this step — you can feel uncertainty and be perfectly OK. So feel it but pick a tiny step anyway.
• Set a timer for 15 minutes and do the step with devotion. Now that you’ve picked a tiny step, set a timer for 15 minutes and allow yourself to pour yourself into this step. Just for 15 minutes, so you know you’ll be fine. Be devoted to what you care deeply about, the people who you’re doing this for. Don’t allow yourself to switch or put things off while the timer is going. Just keep going. Hold the pose. You can do this. Smile as you do it.
• Repeat and iterate. Take 2 minutes to review how it went, what you learned. Was this a good step to take? Do you need to switch to anything else instead (not out of fear, but out of what you just learned doing it)? Do you need to adjust anything? With this tiny part of the process, you are allowing yourself to shift as you take action and get more info and learn. Then pat yourself on the back, feel a sense of accomplishment. Breathe, and notice how you’re different than you were 20 minutes ago.

You’ve now launched your business or project. You have taken a tiny step, and that’s all that it takes to get moving. Now keep moving. Repeat these steps several more times, and notice how much progress you’re making. Let that encourage you to keep doing this, every single day, calling on support when you need it, reminding yourself of what you care deeply about, serving your people with all of your heart, feeling the uncertainty and being joyful in the middle of that shakiness.

This is your love story.

Modern Advice From a Third Grade Teacher

In a former life when I was young and handsome and following the prescribed Life Checklist, I was married to a lovely young lady. In addition to her primary task of being the perfect spouse, she moonlighted as a third-grade teacher. Then, as now, the schools administered an Achievement Test, to track student growth and to assess teacher performance. And Wifey would admonish her students, starting a week before the test, to Get A Good Night's Sleep so that would perform well on the test (and she would get her performance bonus!).

As I have entered into the vanguard of my adulthood (no snarky comments, please), I have realized how powerful this Sage advice is. As a firefighter, sleep was an interrupted luxury; as a medic, it was a fantasy. Now, in our business, I depend on two skills: creativity and quick, accurate decisions. If there is a problem in business, most likely it's because I screwed up one or both of these skills.  And invariably, my skills were depleted because I had not gotten enough sleep. Plain and simple...

Now you are no doubt aware of the tradition of siestas in some Latin american countries. It's brilliant. Have a lunch, take a nap, and tackle the afternoon and evening with vigor. I love it so much, that I follow it religiously. And insist those around me do as well, or at the very least honour my quiet time. One paradox in this is while making quick decisions is important, few things are so important that they can't wait an hour for me to rest and recharge.

Try it yourself. And dream of the wistful days of school, when you were also young and handsome.

Making Lazy Work For You

I was told once that if you wanted something done quickly, give it to the laziest person you know. The assumption is that the person, being lazy, will find the most efficient way of completing it so they can return to whatever mindless activity they doing.

I am that person. For years, I have proudly considered myself lazy. When working as an engineer back in the day, on the night shift no less, I wrote a computer program that would take the design requirements and produce drawings that were about 95% accurate. All I had to do was tweak the drawings, and voila'! My work was done. For an 8 hour shift, I actually would work about 45 minutes. Then I would sneak out the side door (so I didn't have to clock out), go home for a few hours of sleep, and come back before anyone arrived. In my mind, absolute brilliance. So brilliant, that when I was finally found out, the company bought the computer program from me. (Thank you Square D).

In our own happy venture, once again, I am learning the value of laziness. Utilizing tools like IFTTT, Fiverr, MailChimp and Buffer, we are giving our customers even more value than before, with less time. It's a lazy person's dream. In the coming weeks, we will be testing and rolling out a new feature that will seriously save even more time, and should catapult our new family of products (The 400...You will love it!). If I were willing to set down my margarita, I would get out of the hammock to dance a jig. But that is just too much damn effort.

Outgrowing the Past...

I was cooking dinner tonight (shrimp and basil curry-serious yums) and having a conversation with an old friend. As in 30 years o'friendship. And as can be be expected, we starting cranking up some of the equally old stories from the past. Laughter ensued yet it was almost forced, like we were laughing out of habit's sake. Afterwards I let that marinate in my mind over a glass of vinho verde. And not sadly, I came to the conclusion I had simply outgrown my past.

When I started Signature Tastes almost 10 years ago, I was firefighter literally living in a fire station. To quote Chief Croker, FDNY, "I have no ambition in this world but one, and that is to be a firefighter..". That was me. Even after some initial successes in publishing, I still was shilling that same story, that same dream.

Fast forward to now. I can't remember when I last bunked out (not that I want to, that gear reeks to high heaven). I did cook breakfast for B shift a few months back, but I was either the elder statesman or worse, the outsider...most likely the latter. And that's okay. We grow. And our story, the basis of our narrative changes. I hope to all that is holy that I've done someone memorable since that time; I have, but I'm not in a bragging mood.

Right now, my mind is starting to slowly, perceptibly beginning to focus and be consumed by an idea that started 10 years ago. But instead of tugging on the heart strings with a story of a firefighter who cooks, I am now a best-selling, James Beard-owning author and publisher. Who has outgrown his past. Stay tuned for the big reveal... 

Oops, I did it again...

And with all due respect to Miss Spears, I wish our cautionary tale was as inspiring as her song and dance was back in the day...Granted, I could choose to date myself and reference Whitesnake crooning "Here I Go Again" (God Save Tawny Kitaen), but that could allow for a digression poorly suited to this forum.

Anyhoo...the bad news. We lost one of our biggest clients, in terms of singular revenue. I knew it was coming; our product had aided their growth, and they were paying entirely too much money to us. That has had a trickle down effect on other projects (loss of volume printing discount, loss of best-seller status, etc.). Ugh. But sometimes these little steps are just the thing to shock us out of our apathy, and put a fire in the ass. Boy howdy did it! With some added benefits as well. Allow me...

Signature Tastes was before, a series of cookbooks focusing on restaurant recipes. Lovely. But in stopping to look both at the marketplace, the technology and really, what people want, epiphany struck. We are Place-Based Tastes. We focus on the tastes of an area. Simply put.

So now, we do have recipes for cookbooks. And cocktail recipes. And a television show in production. And food products. And merchandise. Holy S&^%! Why haven't we done this before?!? Because we hadn't been shocked out of our lazy lives. There is a lesson there, for us and life.

Thank you Britney.