Small Business - Raul Colon - photographer, digital marketer & writer living on the beach in Puerto Rico.

Too Rigid for Creativity

May 27, 2013 by Raul Colon

For the past 5 years I have moved myself towards working with my creative side. I can confess that I got tired of the corporate performance evaluations, the internal politics, the corporate external politics, and everything that has to do with being the ideal corporate employee (if there is one.)

Too rigid for me

Working for CPA Firms like KPMG and as a Department of Defense Contractor with American Systems as part of their IT Security Practice, I have moved away from rigid structures to having more flexible structures and more creation.

A Structure Should be Your Skeleton

So many of us live our lives creating rigid structures but not building upon it. Structures serve as a skeleton and should not be the outside of everything you do.

I’m Unemployable

About 5 years ago I made decision that I needed out from being an employee and as my friend Jeff Pulver would explain it I realized I am unemployable.

Less Rigidity More of A Mix

I have noticed how mixing many disciplines of my diverse background has helped me appear very different from those who I compete with when it comes to what I do for a living.

In the past few months I have launched and re-launched the following websites:

The privilege of working with teams of individuals with diverse background enables us to oreplicate their offline presence with one online; we do this well.

Although each individuals roles might have been defined in one or two jobs, on each project we were all able to synch and get the product right because we understand each others roles a bit better.

The harmony of the team moving towards the same goal can be a big win for me and for my clients.

Which makes me ask one question, why do many people want to work with people that think like them?

Fusions can Be Entertaining and Educating

Since I shared a bit of my past experiences of working with diverse teams, I wanted to put the spotlight on someone I met. Several months ago the musician and educator Ignacio Peña and his partners invited my family and I to see one of the presentations of “The Great Planet Earth Debate” .

Very Impressed

I was highly impressed with how Ignacio used music, visuals, science, and other disciplines to create a unique and entertaining learning experience.

The Opinion of Other Educators

Here are the reactions of Teachers who went through the same experience that I did.

Support Ignacio

So if you are like me, always searching for fun ways for everyone especially the kids to learn, go to one of his presentations.

He is also raising funds to make this material available for educators, so feel free to visit his site for more information.

Seriously Creative IDEA Engineering

October 9, 2012 by Raul Colon

Ideas pop out of everywhere, some of us have ways to nurture them and make them come to life. Some of us need help developing good ideas into projects.

Last week I had the privilege of getting invited to the IDEA Innovation Workshop that Dana Montenegro and Angiemille Laratorre from Seriously Creative offer.

This half-day workshop is where we kicked off our shoes with the purpose of better understanding how to take ideas and make them into successful projects while having fun.

Ideas occur at any time during the day or night. Sometimes we are sleeping and we wake up to an idea. I keep at least a notepad near me so I can quickly write down any thoughts. On other occasions we are driving and we get an idea of how to fix something. By the time we stop at the next stoplight, we might have forgotten our solution to the problem because we jumped to another topic about what we where having for dinner that night.

Our brains consistently shift and overwrite information; we end up forgetting things we would have liked to keep stored in our memory.

Necessary Stages and Steps for IDEA Engineering

I have always been someone to change processes and the ways things are done in order to be efficient with time.

I get an idea and I go after it.

However when I look back at dead projects like a Local Job Board we set up, Twitter knowledgebase when people did not understand twitter, and some of my more recent projects like Veglatino and Papaheroes, I realize that I love to launch things and then tweak along the way.

Over the years of being as small business owner, I have cut away most of the initial steps of extra planning and other things I did before launching a project. Having a diverse background as a small business owner grooming dogs up to developing and coaching people on how to communicate online more effectively.

What my Brain Favors when it comes to IDEA Engineering

The many things I have done in the past help me relate with many aspects of IDEA Engineering. One of the key takeways from the workshop was being able to identify how my personality fits in with different stages of the idea.

The opportunity to sit down with other small business owners and management executives from other industries helped me understand where I fit when it comes to brainstorming and getting to work on ideas in a better way.

In just a few hours we where able to take on challenges such as enhancing customer experience or helping kids eat healthier and take a 360 degree view to find ways to approach the issue and solve some problems.

Next Step for Me

I can’t wait to attend their next workshop which will happen on January 16th, 2013 and get more information on what I already learned, so I can become more effective and efficient when engineering ideas.

Idea Engineering Full Day

Till then I will be using the frameworks and guidelines I learned from Dana to take a look at a few ideas I don’t have running.

Disclosure: We where invited by the Seriously Cretive with a Complimentary space for the workshop. Even though the knowledge we acquired was an invitation by the Seriously Creative we don’t feel that this influenced the writing of this post in any way.

Cerveza Buye Elves

October 1, 2012 by Raul Colon

This is post five on my Igniting a Revolution Series.

Different to the previous posts where I have focused on the positive side of creating a full customer experience, this time I look into the opposite side of when brands disappoint me. I touch some of the things local brands like Cerveza Buy can fix when communicating online to become more human. There is something to think about when a brand wants to stay anonymous when talking to customers.

What are they hiding?

It’s Difficult to Have Brand loyalty to Local Brands

I try my best at supporting local brands and products. The best example is how I make it to the Organic Farmer’s Markets many times a month, so I can get my fresh produce from those who work the land and are growing local food which in turn keeps more money in Puerto Rico.

When I go to a supermarket preferably Pueblo or Selectos, I try to buy the local items like Mushrooms grown in Aibonito, PR. With every visit I make, I support a local supermarket, and I buy local produce.

I see how many local brands like liquor companies such as Don Q and Medalla, share advertising that is mostly for their interests. They are not interested in creating communities or listening to those who buy their products; they just want to sell.

For years I have been trying to get Medalla Beer to reply and see if their product is Vegan-friendly. Years later, no one has responded, and I get bombarded by ads everywhere.

Cerveza Buyé and its Elves

Weeks ago when I saw a new locally made beer advertised. I saw an opportunity to start supporting local beer instead of buying my favorite Vegan-Friendly Beer Samuel Adams (Boston, MA) or Samuel Smith (England).

I sent a Facebook message via their page to the agency handling the social media account and asked if they could verify if Buyé were Vegan-friendly. After explaining to them several reasons why a Beer might not be vegan, they replied that yes their beer was vegan.

When I asked for the name of the person who provided me the answer, they responded that they were anonymous elves working in the background and could not expose their identity.

Elves = Inexperienced Agency handling social accounts

When I get these replies about being anonymous and other nonsensical comments, it usually means that Buyé as a company is not managing their online presence. They probably have an intern with the digital equivalent of a bullhorn on the other side just blasting and spamming advertisements to anyone they come across on social platforms. Given how others manage their brands, I should be glad they even responded.

Lack of Ownership of Accounts

When a company does not have its voice being communicated online and a separate firm hijacks the account with zero transparency this demonstrates that the agency does not want to be accountable and that Buyé does now own their online presence.

I can’t trust Elves

Since Buyé’s elves replied and I could not get a human, I would not dare drink a Buyé beer since I really can’t validate if they were knowledgeable enough about the product. Last year around Christmas we had another local Puerto Rican elf get some YouTube fame and based on his behavior, I rather continue to recommend Sam Adams and Samuel Smith to my Vegan friends.

Consumers don’t talk with Elves

It is critical that you have a human or core group with product knowledge when it comes to representing your brands.

Brands such as Jetblue, Samsung, Dell, and many others have humans behind them who are accountable for what is shared online. Even Pepboys uses an Agency, and they are very transparent. I got to talk to a human when I had an issue with Pepboys and not a fictional character.

Like many of you, I am not a fan of talking into answering machines much less talking to fictional characters like elves.

Take charge of your presence; let those interested in your products know some humans care behind your brand and products. But most importantly, that those people care about creating community.

Until Buyé realizes it’s critical for a brand to care about the reasonable consumer its Samuel Adams and Sam Smith for me. Cheers…

Tasty Beer Fries & More at La Taberna Lúpulo

September 13, 2012 by Raul Colon

This is post three on my Igniting a Revolution Series.

As part of my series I will be creating reviews of places that I see are really focused on improving customer service in Puerto Rico from many aspects. Here is my latest review on a place that clearly focuses on enhancing customer Experience.

Back in March I went out for drinks with a bunch of local and international geeks that where visiting the Island and we ended up at La Taberna Lúpulo.

La Taberna Lúpulo is set in the famous Calle San Sebastian in Old San Juan.

Entering La Taberna Lúpulo you probably would not see much of a difference from the outside since Old San Juan’s architecture seems to be very uniformed and consistent.

When entering into La Taberna Lúpulo, you will quickly see the bar, some tables, and in the back a small courtyard with some murals.

The bar has a variety of beers (according to there Facebook Page 50 taps & 150 options) that you might not easily find at other local bars. They also have a good variety in spirits, most importantly they have Jack Daniel’s and Jack Daniel’s Honey (all I need at a bar).

The bartenders and staff are very friendly. On my last visit it was a little over 1 am and I asked for the beer fries. They where closing and starting to clean the kitchen and they where nice enough to make a batch for me.

I like Fries I Love Beer Fries

I am a fan of fries but these Beer fries had the perfect seasoning and crisp to them. Something I might go back and try again while having a drink or two.

While sitting at the place I saw how detail oriented the staff was. The staff would make its rounds and ensure the tables and bar where in order. For some strange reason this rarely happens at other local bars. While I was in college I worked at several bars, and I know how messy a table can get if one is not clearing it off constantly.

I love when people take care of their work environments. I become a bigger fan when they enhance the customer experience. Other people might not have noticed this action, but my friend Melvin and I observed how in a matter of minutes the individual who went out of the bar to fix the tables and bar, eliminated all clutter and made the place more attractive for someone to sit and have a drink.

A few minutes later new patrons arrived at the bar demonstrating how important it is to keep everything in order. Some people might try to tie a business metric to setting up chairs in the right order but it is only common sense that customers like to walk into places that look clean and orderly.

I think La Taberna Lúpulo has become the place I will go to have drinks when I am in Old San Juan. If you are in Old San Juan and are looking for a neat place to sit, chat, and have a drink I highly recommend La Taberna Lúpulo and ask for the beer fries.

Find Taberna Lupulo on:

Facebook
Yelp
TripAdvisor

Aligning Sales Calls with Proposals

August 29, 2012 by Raul Colon

I have tried in multiple occasions to give my Business phone calls some structure especially my sales calls. For the past year I have been pitching to leads around the world via phone (or Skype) trying to gain new customers.

On many occasions I play it by ear but when I finish my call I am not satisfied with the outcome. When I have my first call with a lead, which I call a “discovery call”, I already have some mind-maps which help me document while getting a better understanding of what my possible client needs. That mind-map helps me align their needs with my strengths. When I prepare and make a more formal process I end up with phone calls that went smoothly and the result is a request for a proposal from my company.

My Homework

I then take a few days and do some research on the organization or individual on what needs to be done. Once I finish research I create a proposal, which I later discuss with the client.

Here is where I usually drop the ball big time by focusing all my energy in small details of the proposal and not having more like a script to run them through everything in a summarize way.

Pointing clients towards the key parts they need to analyze vs. explaining each and every detail ends up taking less time from the client and helps me send the message that I always look for practical solutions that take less time from them. On most occasions the client is hiring us to save time.

The detailed proposal can probably overwhelm clients and make them feel like what I am offering is too much.

Too Much Detail or Not Enough

I will create a summarized version of the proposal that will become part of “my sales playbook.” I will cover the key things we will we will work on with the client and provide more details if needed.

This can become a challenging task and time consuming something the client might not have. Perhaps creating a small checklist of key things I need to cover vs. walking them over the full proposal line-by-line. Recently I made revisions to my process and it seems to have worked better than just running the client through the full proposal.

Once I have this I will be sharing this sales playbook with those who subscribe to this blog and have provided their email. If you want to receive this and the process I have for a discovery call with a few templates feel free to subscribe to my blog.

If you have any suggestion on how I can improve my sales process and cycle or have any questions on how you can improve yours feel free to comment in the comments area.