Blog - In The News

We'll see what happens, and not sure what it means to "encourage lending," but it would be very smart of the Obama Administration to help small business, the engine for growth and hiring for the economy.   We'll see!

"An internal document obtained by The Associated Press spell out how the Treasury Department plans to spend money from the fund before it expires in October 2010. The document show $40 billion would go to consumer and business lending programs.  Of that amount, $30 billion would support lending to small companies, according to a Treasury official who spoke Friday on condition of anonymity because no final decisions on the program have been made."

Will this help you in any way?

Click here to read entire article >

This Op-Ed in the New York Times by Jack Ma, founder and chief executive of the Alibaba Group., describes what we have been seeing for awhile, the transition from big business to small business.  This transition has been made possible by innovations in web-based technologies that have leveled the playing field; now, anyone from anywhere in the world can compete and reach customers on a global scale.

"These Netrepreneurs will operate with minimal overhead, allowing for both lower prices and lucrative margins, as well as fair compensation for employees, suppliers, partners and themselves. Their primary task: focus on making customers happy and treating partners and other stakeholders fairly while the technologies of the platform take care of the rest."

Click here to read the entire article >

Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh was generous enough to answer questions from Collective-E and our members. We asked our members if they had any questions for Tony, just as we will be doing with other influential entrepreneurs for our Collective Insider Series.  This series seeks the most innovative ideas and creative strategies tested by other successful entrepreneurs and guaranteed to help your business now!   Congratulations to Tony and to Zappos for the acquisition by Amazon,  his answers shed light on how Zappos became an target and how despite their massive growth they stayed true to their brand and superior customer service.

If you had to explain to our members why you believe Zappos.com has been so successful, what key reasons would you attribute it to?

I think it's because of our focus customer service and company culture. Our whole belief is that if we get the culture right, then most of the other stuff, like delivering great customer service or building a long term enduring brand, will happen naturally on its own. We've grown from almost no sales in 1999 to over $1 billion in gross merchandise sales in 2008. The #1 driver of that growth has been through repeat customers and word of mouth. On any given day, about 75% of our orders are from repeat customers. Our philosophy is to take most of the money we would have spent on paid advertising/marketing and put that into the customer experience instead, including things like free shipping both ways, our 365-day return policy, and staffing our call center 24/7.

How have you created such a powerful and positive customer service force in Zappos?  Even scheduling this interview, the level of positive and quick feedback was notable enough to talk about after we hung up the phone. How do you keep that spirit alive and thriving? - Sabina Ptacin

It's a combination of making sure that everyone understands our vision of having the Zappos brand be synonymous with the very best customer service as well as making sure that we hire people that are a fit for our company culture. Our culture is defined by our 10 core values:  1) Deliver WOW Through Service  2) Embrace and Drive Change  3) Create Fun and A Little Weirdness  4) Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded  5) Pursue Growth and Learning  6) Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication  7) Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit  8) Do More With Less  9) Be Passionate and Determined 10) Be Humble You can learn more about our core values here: http://about.zappos.com/our-unique-culture/zappos-core-values

Entrepreneurs seem to be very good at starting and developing projects. I've found one of the most challenging things for me is to figure out and then decide what to stop doing, whether it's because the market is changing, it's not profitable, or I'm just not good at something.  Can you give an example of something you stopped doing and include how you made the decision, how long it took you to make, and the outcome?  - Margot Tohn

We are always open to experimenting with ideas we get from customers and employees. For example, we had some customers that suggested that we try selling dog collars, and others that suggested that we try selling sunglasses. Neither of those categories have very much to do with shoes, but we decided to experiment with both. As it turns out, the dog collars did not sell very well, but the sunglasses did. So we decided to stop selling dog collars and invest more heavily in sunglasses. Today, we have one of the best selections of sunglasses available anywhere, online or offline, and they continue to sell well for us.

	How do you feel businesses of all sizes should respond to the recession in order to thrive?
	I think the true test of a company's character (or even a person's character) is how they behave when times are tough. For us, we've continued to focus on providing the very best customer service and developing our company culture. My advice to businesses of all sizes is to figure out what you want to stand for (ie, what your core values are) and continue to make decisions based on that.

How important are social media outlets such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to Zappos.com?

Our primary focus has been on Twitter. We have over 400 employees on Twitter, and you can view their tweets at: http://twitter.zappos.com/employee_tweets As you can see, most of the tweets are not about business or marketing, but it's a great way for us to connect on a more personal level with both employees and customers. It gives people a glimpse into our company culture, which is ultimately what our brand is all about.

	How often do your Tweets turn into actual sales?  Do you measure that in some way? - Katie Hellmuth Martin
	We don't measure that because we don't think of Twitter as a direct marketing channel. Twitter allows us to be more personal with our customers and build relationships with them over time.

	What is your favorite thing about entrepreneurship?
	I enjoy that there are always new challenges and that you have to be creative in figuring out how to attack those challenges.

	What is the biggest challenge you face as an entrepreneur?
	I think the biggest challenge is that there are so many great ideas but not enough time or resources to do all of them. The hardest part about being an entrepreneur is figuring out what not to do.

	Looking beyond Twitter and Facebook, are there any other forms of new media or social networking you're following? - Beth Schoenfeldt
	Aside from YouTube, not really.

	What was the most effective thing you did to maximize web awareness? - Katie Danziger
	Most of our awareness online or offline has been generated by word of mouth. We really just focus on WOWing our customers, and let our customers do the marketing for us.

	Do you have any consistent best-sellers at Zappos.com?
	It really varies by season, but in Q4 our top-selling brand has been Uggs: http://www.zappos.com/Uggs

These boots are made for...getting your entrepreneurial groove on. Here is his letter to Zappos employees with more Q&A about the Amazon acquisition. Thanks Tony! 

Collective-E members are finding success selling on Amazon, find out more

Want to ask CEOs and others your burning questions? Join Collective-E for the member-only opportunity.

It would be hard to miss the phenomenon that is Susan Boyle, at this point over 15 million have watched her shock the audience and judges on the show "Britain’s Got Talent" with her beautiful rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" from the musical "Les Miserables.”    I know that my husband and I account for at least 5 viewings as we were blown away and were compelled to watch it over and over. 

Susan is the perfect example of an “overnight sensation” created by years of training and preparation mixed in with a dose of luck and timing.  Susan didn’t just walk on the stage and belt out the song for the first time; she actually trained, practiced and performed as much as possible in her village.  She had the desire for a professional music career with the dream of being like Elaine Page, the first lady of the British musical. And even though, at the age of 47 she might have easily given up her dream, she made the effort to enter a national talent contest and we all know the result; Susan is now an international “overnight” sensation.

This is the story that I hear over and over again with entrepreneurs, entertainers and artists.  After years of sacrifice, preparation and pounding the pavement, you get that great review, a celebrity wears your product or you are featured on Oprah and all of a sudden you are the belle of the ball.  Collective-E co-founder Sabina tells me that she can work on a press campaign for months before she gets the big break and the client is everywhere.  Examples include everyone from Rachael Ray,  to JK Rawlings. or actress Naomi Watts who struggled for years in Hollywood before breaking out as a star.

So what does this mean for you?

•    Have a clear strategy and vision.  Do you really know what it is you want?  Are you sure that you want it?  Have you really thought about the implications of getting it?  Susan’s life is changed forever, you might say for the good, but she is giving up her privacy, leisure time and lifestyle. 

•    Be prepared.  Say Daily Candy or Oprah calls are you ready?  Can you produce enough products, is your website ready?   Have you practiced your interviewing skills when the media comes knocking at the door?  Do you have a quality product, service and everything you need ready to go?   Preparation is key so that when you get your big break you are ready to go on the ride.

•    Never give up.  If you have the urge to give up on your dream, just click here and watch Susan Boyle.