Category Archives: Business

You’re Welcome

If you’re in Chicago, San Francisco, or any city covered by Lyft, you’re in luck.

Lyft is the best thing ever.  Lyft is:

  • Cheaper than a cab.
  • Cool people, good drivers.
  • Clean, odor-free cars.
  • Pain-free: When the ride’s over, you leave.  No fiddle-fucking with cash or a credit card.  The app takes care of the payment automatically.
  • Two-way paper trail, ladies.
  • Pick your driver; only ones you want.

No affiliate links.  No compensation for this post.

Just me saying this thing, Lyft, is awesome.

Good talk.

Assuming the best is right

Restaurant servers usually start with one question.  “Is this your first time?”

Either way, it’s an awful question to be asked.  The answer is irrelevant.  It’s like being asked the same question after a 3rd (really good) date.  Just awful.

Instead, isn’t it always better to hear, “You’ve been here before, right?”

Same info is gathered.  But this way, if your answer is, “This is my first time,” you don’t feel like such a idiot outsider.

Know what I’m saying, right?

Low Fat, Free, SHOCKING: Ironically

In business, it’s tempting to win through trickery.  But who are you appealing to?  The less intelligent?  The less educated?  The less fortunate?  What, Average Americans?

Big food tricks Average Americans into thinking their products are healthy.  Take the “Low Fat!” bait and what do you get?  Diabetes.

Free Credit Report dot com makes tricks people into thinking their products are free.  Take the “Free” bait, and what do you get?  Monthly charges on your credit card.

Some email marketers use ALL CAPS in parts of the subject lines.  Take the “SHOCKING” bait and what do you get?  A stinking pile of garbage.  Plus, a link to click, probably leading you to another stinking pile of garbage.

But aren’t we all getting smarter?  More educated.  More exposed.  Less likely to be tricked?

Statisticians may challenge the notion of Average Americans being ever-present.  Yes, average is a relative term.  But Average Americans are becoming Above Average Americans, compared to the past.  And isn’t figuring new ways to trick them a lot tougher, in the long run, than earning their trust and treating them with respect in the short term?

Lowercase Free

So there’s a lot of FREE stuff out there.  And much of it is easy to find.  Why?  Because the easy-to-find FREE stuff isn’t really free.

But what about the hard-to-find free stuff?

Like laughing your ass off with your friends.  Or relaxing with your lover.  Or reminiscing with your family.

Yes, people making a living facilitating that free stuff.  Going to a movie, or on vacation, or dinner is not FREE.  But the stuff that comes with it is.  And while it’s sometimes hard-to-find, isn’t that the best kind of free?

Abundance of FREE

Free stuff is easy to find.  In fact, many people make a living showing you FREE.

Currently, I pay the bills by showing you free.  Not this blog which I write for free.  But by showing you how to get a Vitamix shipped for FREE.  You get your Vitamix, I get credit for the sale.

For several years, FREE Credit Report dot com has built a business showing you free.  You get a credit report, they get an opportunity to sell you services.

For nearly a decade, Facebook has been “FREE and always will be”.  You get connected, they get to show you targeted ads.

This stuff wasn’t really free, right?  $500 for a Vitamix, $20 / mo for credit monitoring services, your privacy.  No wonder it was so easy to find.

It’s Business, Not Personal

When you leave your door unlocked, robbers will take your stuff.

When you leave your passwords unchanged, robbers will take your identity.

When your leave your great grandma to fend for herself, robbers will take her money.

Robbers aren’t out to get you.  Taking from you is just their business.  Why take it personally if you made their job easy?

3 Life Lessons From Last Night

Good acts are tough to follow.  Last night’s Breaking Bad made Dexter look 10x worse than it actually has been this season.  Even if your act is good, everything is relative.

Allow things to progress naturally.  Dexter went on four seasons too long.  It progressed ever-so naturally up until season four.  Breaking Bad has been naturally progressing throughout its entire run.

Under promise, over deliver.  How many ads did you see hyping this premier or Breaking Bad?  Could last night’s episode have been as good if you were expecting a “shocking” premier?

Bonus lesson.  Don’t mention last night’s Breaking Bad to anyone who hasn’t seen season 1. Why?  See above.

Matt, Trey, Dave Chappelle Walk Into a Bar

South Park and Chappelle’s Show have made Comedy Central millions.  Same with their creators.  So why are Matt & Trey still going strong while Dave Chappelle vanished after a few incredible years?  Few theories.

Scope creep.  The scope of Trey and Matt’s duties have’t changed despite the shows evolving sophistication in animation, effects and sound.  These guys still make shows in one week using a few meetings in a conference room.  When Chappelle’s show got bigger, however, so did the scope of his work.  More filming, more promos, more writing.

It’s lonely at the top.  For Chappelle, who had his back?  Who was he sharing the highs and lows with?  Chappelle had a couple co-creators, but he was the star.  For Trey and Matt, it’s always 50/50.

Not in it for the money.  Trey and Matt may have been at first, but certainly aren’t now. Today, they have more money than they could ever spend.  And yet, they’re still working hard.  Dave Chappelle was just a stand-up comedian.  He worked his butt off to reach the top of Comedy Central Mountian.  Why?  To get paid.  The ending credits to his show said it, “I’m rich, biatch!”

Lessons here?  Be more like the South Park guys.  Set some expectations, find a partner in your work and do what you love.

Good talk.

Here’s a classic clip of Dave Chappelle on Late Night with Conan O’Brien in 2001