On November 13th, I participated in his memorial ride and was so touched when Rapha gave everyone a cycling cap with ROBERTO embroidered on the side. I also received a matching Rapha jersey with ROBERTO on the sleeve. These jerseys were given to a few of his core riding friends, and I’m honored to be in the core group of Myrtle Street Boys. So, despite the category 1 climb, I put on the polka dot jersey Roberto had given me for my birthday and headed up the hill to honor a friend. It was one the hardest climbs I’ve ever done, but also one of the most amazing.

After that memorial ride, I felt like I needed a break and wanted to take some time off the bike. The death of someone close has an amazing way of making you think. I started thinking about my wife, my two kids, all my friends, and what would happen had that been me on the morning of November 5th? As much as I love cycling, and as much as cycling has changed my life, was it worth the risk we face when we put on those cleated shoes? So, you see, the timing of this Turkey Takeoff just didn’t feel right. Or did it?

Roberto loved Rapha; as a brand copywriter, he got what the company was about. It’s not just about clothing, but about a sense of belonging – a belonging to a community of riders around the world, a community of strangers who would show up at a memorial ride despite not ever meeting the person they were honoring. He understand that we love “our” brands because of the way they make us feel.

It was in that community spirit that I decided to participate in the Rapha Turkey Takeoff. After all, it’s what Roberto would have done. Going into it, I didn’t have any delusions of finishing since I wasn’t riding that much. But I thought maybe, with a couple local rides under my wheels, I could increase the miles and make a good dent in that 9,000 calories. I could at least offset my Thanksgiving day meal.

I started with a small ride on Wednesday, a good 65 miles on Thursday followed by a meal with family and a nap, and then up early for another 42 on Friday. The momentum was building. I had thrown out the idea that a group of us should do the 100-mile ride south to San Diego and take the train back on Saturday, but didn’t really get any takers. I didn’t really want to ride solo so I figured my Turkey Takeoff quest was over.

On Friday afternoon, I attended a memorial at one of Roberto’s favorite restaurants. We all gathered for a meal and to hear words from his family and friends, and just to be together. I felt like I had said goodbye already on the memorial ride. I had let all the tears flow that day on the climb up Los Flores. This memorial dinner felt different, though. It seemed that some of us had moved past the shock of it all and began celebrating his life. We enjoyed the Vietnamese cuisine that he so loved and talked about all the great times we had with Roberto. It was a true celebration of who he was, and it was an event that he would have enjoyed attending.

I still wasn’t getting any takers on a trip to San Diego, but it was at that memorial dinner where I realized the timing of the Turkey Takeoff couldn’t have been any better. It was getting me back on the bike, and riding was exactly what I needed to do. It was helping me mourn the loss of my friend, helping me reflect, helping me move forward.

And so, Saturday morning, I put on my Rapha ROBERTO jersey and headed south for one of the most epic days of riding I’ve had in a long time. I didn’t care that I was riding solo. In fact, I think I enjoyed the ride more. It was just me, my thoughts, my breath and the spin of the pedals. I savored every single mile. And the Amtrak ride back was great – watching the sunset, drinking a beer, feeling hungry from the lack of calories. Roberto, our friends and I had taken this train back together many times (except that one time when Roberto and Ron got tossed from the train, but that’s another story for another day).

Once home, I consumed a Haven burger as I had done with Roberto many times after rides. Then, Sunday morning, I connected with my Sunday group for my final miles and, just like that, I feel like I’m back in the riding routine. And, although I have a brand new respect for the road and for the dangers of it all, I’m not ready to hang up the bike just yet.

I did the Turkey Takeoff for Roberto. And, I did it for me and for the friends he left behind. As he would say, after we enjoyed Vietnamese food and massages, “Let the healing begin.”

Signup today, come here me speak in the OC at TEDx Irvine. I have the privilege of sharing the stage with some amazing speakers (More info here). The theme of the day will be “change agents”, the title of my talk will be “transitions”.

When: November 17th, 6 – 9pm
Where: Rancho Las Lomas
Buy your tickets today, hope to see you there!

He was a modern DaVinci, the Thomas Edison of my time. Without his inspiration I wouldn’t have the tools to make my living. Without his vision I couldn’t communicate with family and friends the way I do. The list of products he brought to market is staggering, the influence of those products can never truly be grasped. To name a few: a graphic based interface, the mouse, a computer friendly and approachable, the iPod, iPhone, iPad, Pixar. He changed the way we hear music, the way we watch movies, the way in which we interact with each other…the list goes on and on. RIP Steve Jobs your inspired leadership will be missed.

- posted from my iPad

I recently spoke at the Creative Freelancers Conference put on by HOW and Marketing Mentor. I spent a week in Chicago and had some amazing things happen. It was truly one of the best trips I’ve been on and the best conference I’ve spoke at.

My talk was titled “To Plan or Not to Plan?” and my goal was to inspire the group in the room to dream big and think beyond themselves, to think beyond the fact that they are flying solo. I also challenged them to create a plan that included money basics, marketing needs versus wants and goals that were juicy in every detail. I double dog dared the audience to do something big this year; something so big that people would laugh at them when the announced this plan. Stay tuned for some stories about people taking the #CFCDare seriously.

My personal dare that I repeated multiple times on stage was “I’m gonna change the world.” I don’t know exactly what that looks like yet, but I can tell you that I’m making progress and I truly believe I will change the world. I mentioned that “success is a direction, not a destination.” My direction from here forward will be towards things that change the world. How’s that for a #CFCdare?

Beyond the thrill of the #CFCdare, here are some highlights from my Chicago experience:

You Never Know Who is in the Room.
After my presentation, I walked off stage and handed the mic over to a tall, slender gentleman named Doug. He put his arm on my shoulder and showed me a picture on his iPhone of how overweight he used to be. During my talk, I used my own weight loss as an illustration of juicy versus bland goals. That interaction with Doug really rocked me; the fact that he was inspired by my talk even though I was there to talk with everyone else. It just goes to show that you never know who is in the room.

Get Out of Town.
Sometimes you just have to get out of town to be inspired. I love Chicago. Granted, I’ve only been there in the summer when it’s nice outside, but what an amazing city. The architecture, walking along the river … I would say other than O’Hare Airport, I love all of it. One evening, some conference buddies and I took a cab outside of town a bit to the Green Mill Jazz Club. Chicago is known for it’s jazz culture, so I always try to take some in when I’m in town. That night at the Green Mill, I witnessed Latin jazz executed at such a level that I felt like a hack at my own job. I give my job everything I have, but nothing like that. Wow. Chuchito Valdes was his name. He is a Grammy-winning artist and, despite being in a room with only about 100 people, he lit it up. This is one thing I love about jazz; it’s completely different live than listening to it on an iPod. That was one of the most inspiring things I’ve ever seen. And it made me realize that even if you think no one is watching, you should always give it your all.

The In-between Time.
I’m not the best conference person. I tend to overdo it and try to take in too many sessions, so I leave sort of overwhelmed with information overload. The thing I do love is the in-between time, the random conversations in the hall, the after-hours drinks and dinners. That’s really the stuff I love. This trip was no exception. I spent lots of time with these people, and they really made the trip special for me. @Jovenville @rdqlus_creative @schutzsmith @DyanaValentine @clearwriter @imaccami @JamieSaunders @LaurenHybinette (And many many more)

People Are So Gracious.
It’s amazing how nice people are when you show up and share your life with them. I’ve had the privilege of interacting with some amazing people since my talk and have seen some very kind posts about things that were said. You can read some of those awesome recaps here, here and here (and please send me a link if you wrote a recap so I can post it).

One of the most touching things that happened was someone bringing me homemade snickerdoodle cookies. She stood up during the Q&A portion and introduced herself: “Hello my name is Marilee and I’m really good at making snickerdoodle cookies.” I spent some time during the conference talking to Marilee about her business and how she could mix things up. I was pleasantly surprised on Sunday morning by a text that she was looking for me so she could hand off a bag of baked goods … and let me tell you, they were delicious.

So, not only does saying you’re going to change the world get people around you excited, it also has perks, like snickerdoodles.

Did you attend CFC? What were the highlights for you? Post your comments or if you wrote a recap, send it to me so I can post it.

It’s been almost a month since I dropped AT&T for a Verizon iPhone. One of the major perceived issues with the change to Verizon was that you can’t use data and phone at the same time. Problem was, because my AT&T service was so bad, I wasn’t able to use data and phone together anyway. In fact, what finally sent me over the edge was that I was no longer able to send text messages from my house.

I was discussing this over Twitter where someone went on to call AT&T’s claim a “Straw Man argument at best.” I think that Twitter assertion is spot on.

I can honestly say that I haven’t needed the use of data and voice together yet, and really how often would I need that feature? As often as I would like to be able to make a call? Highly unlikely. However, what I have needed and enjoyed immensely is full signal wherever I go. My iPhone now works as, well, a phone.

It’s an interesting play for AT&T for sure and it may be their only play against Verizon at this point. We all know that they have been investing millions of dollars in the network and perhaps one day this will pass through to the consumer, but for now, I will enjoy my bars.

Fearing the “straw man,” I avoided Verizon for awhile. So, for a time, the AT&T campaign worked on me. But at the end of the day, if your product’s quality and service is missing, I guess you have to resort to attacking the competition.

I offered to stay with AT&T if I could get a MicroCell for home, but that wasn’t offered. And so I’ve moved on. I’ve also encouraged many others to do the same, four of which have followed suit.

I think the cell phone industry, like many other commodity industries, is waiting for a brand to stand up and simply beat the competition by giving consumers what they want instead of some lame straw man promise.

Goodbye AT&T. I took your advice and rethought possible.

I have to admit, I’m a sucker for spirit. I love when people do what they love and I will go out of my way to show my support. It’s why I have an office full of artwork. It’s also why I buy the brands I love. Something about their brand spirit is contagious to be around and that is great for business.

One such brand is fellow graphic designer Steve G. from RDQLUS Creative. I met Steve last year in Denver at a conference I spoke at. After watching him interact with his fans, I can say that his spirit is definitely contagious. It’s not only in how he interacts with people, but also in his work.

I recently picked up a couple of t-shirts from his store. Not only do I love the designs, but like the artwork hanging in my office, I will be reminded of the spirit that went creating them each time I don my RDQLUSthreads.

Over the past two years, I’ve had some amazing things happen and it’s been a bit of a reward to feel like I’ve always leaned towards relationships first. It’s not that I don’t want profits, it’s that I don’t think you have to give up relationships to get profits, unless you’re trying to get them too quickly. I would much rather build a strong business over time and have some great friendships along the way than step on people to get to the top.

I don’t believe we can be truly profitable at the expense of others. We’ve certainly seen this to be true when companies like Enron do anything and everything to appease shareholders only to crash in the end. I’m pretty sure if we looked into the history books, we would see the same model played out over and over again.

I got a touching email last week that included the line, “Honestly dude, you are one of the few people I’ve met in my life that I can without hesitation say that you deserve every good thing that comes your way.” Humbling comment for sure, but it also made me realize and even enjoy a bit of vindication that you can be a good guy in business and still do okay.

I’m reminded by the great quote from Zig Ziglar who said, “You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”

As for me, I’ll continue helping and believing that “slow and steady wins the race.”

1. Don’t spend just because others are
It’s temping to try and mimic larger companies and spend money on things that you may not need right now. Yes, a killer website will help you sell, but it might not be what you need right now. If, for example, you’ve seen success in a certain vertical or have a great success story with a certain type of business, I would spend money on having someone help you tell that story (case study) before I would spend a bunch of money on a website. Focus your money on what will get you in front of the right people. You can always build the killer site later.

Likewise, don’t spend money on a bunch of blanket mailings that go out to anyone and everyone, or on a yellow pages ad that won’t reach anyone. You would be better off putting together a list of 50 potential clients that fit your company, and then spend your money and efforts marketing to that group. Not only do your marketing dollars become more potent, but you find the clients that fit what you do. It’s one of the hardest things to do as a business, but in order to get into the mind of the prospect, you have to sacrifice.

For example, if you had a couple of auto dealerships as clients, and they love what you do, write up that story in a compelling case study. Then start to market to a short list of auto dealerships that could benefit in the same way. Even if you’re not completely selling only to that niche, you can pursue a niche or channel for a season.

2. You must track
If a marketing tactic is not somehow measurable, I don’t think it should be done. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve worked with companies that are spending money on some sort of tactic and have no way of measuring results. They get sold on doing a blanket mailing or a yellow pages ad, but they don’t really know if it’s working or not.

With any tactic, you should be able to measure. Know if it’s working, know how to adjust it if it’s not and, most of all, make sure you at least learn something. It’s okay to try things and maybe have some of them not work, but at some point, if it’s not working, you need to learn and move on. I’ve done this successfully with Google AdWords. Put a small amount of money in the hopper and run a campaign for a short season. At the end of that season, decide if it’s worth investing more, worth investing the same or that it doesn’t work and move on to something else. Try, track, learn and improve. If you’re not tracking and learning, you’re wasting money.

3. Laser sharp focus
I mentioned above the idea of picking a place to focus. This is so essential for a small company. You simply don’t have the resources to play with the big boys yet. You need to find a couple of niches, or just one where you can be that big fish in a small pond. This will allow the marketing dollars that you do have to be more potent. It’s also easier to talk to one industry than it is to try and create a blanket message for all. If you show up to auto dealerships with a story of success with another dealership, you will get further than just putting an ad in the yellow pages.

Some final thoughts …

Just because you’re small doesn’t mean you can’t market and brand yourself well. In fact, you might be at an advantage if you’re forced to focus on a niche. Being small and agile could allow you to find a niche and sell, sell, sell.

My youngest is a complete clown. He loves to laugh and make people laugh. His little brand touch lately has been adjusting the straps on my backpack. He knows that I pick my bag up every morning and I’ve mentioned to him multiple times that I don’t want him playing with it, but his rebel clown brand lives on.

Contrast that with my older son who is easily one of the most thoughtful kids I’ve met. He has been known to buy flowers for his mother without anyone prompting him. The other day, he put toothpaste on my toothbrush and laid out my pajamas while I was in the shower. His caring, thoughtful brand shines through.

Another example is Apple. If you’ve every purchased one of their products, it’s hard not to notice how brilliant and over-engineered their packaging is. I doubt it costs much more than any other electronic packaging, but it’s so thoughtful and it gives you the feeling that you really are part of something special.

What are your favorite brand touches? What could you be doing as a brand to add those little memorable touches? Toss in a little surprise now and then; sometimes it’s the little things that make a brand grown big.