Hurry Up and Wait

A friend of mine who spent years in the NAVY often described the experience as constantly being told to "hurry up and wait." This meant running to your place in line, reporting as early as possible, etc, only to stand there for hours waiting for the next set of orders. The point was to be ready at all times for something that may not occur until the distant future, or, in some cases, not at all.

I have found the "hurry up and wait" concept to be applicable to almost everything in life, the starting of a small business included. Registering the domain is proving to be a waiting game. Coming up with the motivation to design the site and have it sitting there, ready to go, is difficult since it may be days or weeks until I can post it.

Hopefully the turnaround on the business cards will be quicker and more satisfying.

1,001 Ways to Make Money

My co-worker, let's call him Bob-O, is the most money-minded individual I've ever met. When I point out to him that he's always thinking of ways to make money, "I'm in marketing," he'll say, "What can I say?"

Tonight, we showed up fashionably late to an outdoor concert and I had the good fortune to know someone seated with access to 3 extra chairs for my standing friends, Bob-O being one of them, and I. "We should bring chairs next time and sell them," said Bob-O. Since folding chairs were allowed in, it wasn't a half-bad idea. Although I'm sure we would have had to offer the restaurant at which the concert was held a cut of our profits or a space rental fee or something.

Find the need, fulfil the need, make a profit... now that's marketing...

If Teenagers Can Use GoDaddy.com, I Can Too!

I registered ManiacMarCom.com yesterday and plan to have a site up as soon as the registration comes through. I used illustrious www.godaddy.com for the registration and was very impressed with the wide array of available add-ons, freebies, and help resources available to aspiring web masters like myself. Surely, with all these tools at my disposal, I cannot fail!

I like the GoDaddy.com marketing tactics -- the cross-selling of email addresses, web development software, blog software, related URLs, etc, comes off as their suggesting vital, value-added bonus services. I assume their barrage of freebies and help resources keeps their customers active in their websites(which ensures that they will renew, year after year). Unfortunately, the Internet genius of GoDaddy.com was offset by a mult-million dollar Superbowl commercial attempt last year. Web companies, in my opinion, do best to stick with web advertising. It's much more humane those of us that have to watch.

The Blog is Alive!

Maniac MarCom is finally coming to fruition! A website, blog, and business cards are all in the works. The company already provides companies in Austin and California with technical and marketing writing services for user guides, training guides, and newsletter and website content.

Sylvia Christensen, owner, founder, head maniac, brings 7 years of experience as a marketing, business, and technical writer to the table. She works on a consultant, part-time, or temporary basis to provide your company with the vital printed materials that it needs to be successful. Additional graphic arts and writing resources (more people) are available for large projects. Start-up clients are welcome and encouraged.

Stay tuned for more information about Manaic MarCom as it unfolds!