business

I just got done reading Chris Anderson’s 6,000 word preview for his upcoming book Free! Why $0.00 Is the Future of Business. In short, the article examines cross-subsidies (read: giving away razors to sell razor blades) as they pertain to the web products and their near-zero operating costs. You can have a free lunch so long as someone else picks up the tab, maintains Anderson.

While the article was informative, I don’t think the strategy of giving is “the future of business,” rather it’s an effective marketing tool for select web companies — not everyone, and especially not for offline ventures. Still, Anderson presents some compelling evidence that “free” will become more ubiquitous than I currently believe.

Ironically, and in an effort to deflect the “wait a minute, your product isn’t free” criticism, Wired is offering up to 10,000 copies of its March 2008 issue at not cost to you (a fraction of the 500,000+ issues the publisher sells every month, mind you). Not quite what I’d call “practice what you preach,” but then again, I don’t think Anderson’s article endorses the demise of direct sales altogether, even if his headline does.

Lindsey and I were discussing off-brands last month with our good friends, the Andersens — specifically, what generic imitations we refuse to buy as consumers. Personally, I will never substitute the following products with an inexpensive alternative: (more…)

Lindsey and I finished our taxes early this year, e-filing on Tuesday with our people. It feels good to put that one in the “completed” folder.

What’s more, I saved a grundle in 2007 by filing as an s-corp instead of a partnership (note: the federal government does not recognize an LLC, a state entity, so Uncle Sam defaults to a partnership filing for tax purposes). Couple that with an additional tax credit for our second child born in October, and the Snow family will be spoiled with its first return in three years.

The downside: flat revenues also contributed to the return, though I honestly can’t complain. Not one bit. Have you done your taxes?

After five and a half years, I’m accepting offers to sell my first business, Griffio LLC, a Utah-based web consultancy. Even though it’s been business as usual, I’ve distanced myself from the firm over the last two years to focus on a career in writing. While my knowledge of proper web design remains, my passion doesn’t. So I’m listing the company for sale.

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My Blackberry inexplicably died on Saturday afternoon while napping on the kitchen counter. Two years of age seemingly put the kibosh on the device’s ability to connect to T-mobile.

So I called T-mobile to solve the issue. It turned out my phone had in fact died and was no longer under warranty. I would need to buy a new phone.

Reality bearing down, I decided to do what I’ve done so many times to successful results as a consumer: ask if my continued business would be worth an exception — in this case having to fork over $100 for a replacement.

“You’ve been with us a long time, Mr. Snow,” the last manager happily said over the phone. “We’ll send out a new phone right away (read: your $1200/year cell phone account is worth a $100 concession).”

Half of life is simply asking.

Seth Mnookin, a freelancer of four years, waxes poetic on the subject of unproductive efficiency in a recent Wired column:

“My campaign to increase productivity had become yet another distraction — and a significant one. Suddenly I needed to time-manage my time management… [so] I forced myself to quit optimizing how I get things done and start actually getting things done.”

Amen to that — and precisely in line with what Timothy Ferriss counsels in The 4-Hour Work Week. Productivity, not efficiency, is paramount. Now if I could only practice what I preach…

Answer: prominently list your service fees on your home page to weed out unfitting clients.

If you sell products, this is a no-brainer. But since a majority of U.S. business are service-based companies, this is a must if you want to spend more time closing business instead of qualifying it. At the least, and when using custom bids, you should be listing your minimum purchase order on your home page (yes, I said home page) — and DON’T bury your pricing; make it palpable.

“But I don’t compete on pricing, so there’s no need to list my fees,” you may exclaim. Neither do I. But the reality remains that a majority of consumers still do, so you’d be wise in politely showing ill-suited customers the door sooner rather than later — it really is better for all involved.

I’ve been doing this for two years now and can honestly say it has increased my close rate while improving my sales effectiveness (read: no more wasting time on clients I’m not well-suited for). I regularly refer prospective web clients to my single-page (though outdated) site to ensure they understand from the get-go if I’m within their budget.

Even though Wal-Mart spreads like a germ, as evidenced in this video, times are changing (sorta).

The Wall Street Journal reports: “Wal-Mart’s influence over the retail universe is slipping. In fact, the industry’s titan is scrambling to keep up with swifter rivals that are redefining the business all around it. It can still disrupt prices, as it did last year by cutting some generic prescriptions to $4. But success is no longer guaranteed.”

Note: I shop and buy groceries at Wal-Mart.

Microsoft released Halo 3 for Xbox 360 today. The game will sell millions, it’s already getting very good reviews, and Microsoft hopes (and needs) the game to be the biggest entertainment launch in history to reverse ongoing losses in its Xbox division.

“With nary a pirate, a spider or a wand in sight, day-one sales of [Halo 3] are expected to shatter entertainment sales records and top the biggest entertainment launches of all time,” Microsoft said in a statement. The current holder of that record is Sony’s Spider Man 3.

Over the weekend, Microsoft sent out what game journo Dean Takahashi called “propaganda: an $800 bribe (shown above) to convince the gaming press that Halo 3 is the biggest event of the year.” Takahashi says he’ll send the free loot back to Microsoft in an effort to tame the hype.

I could be wrong, but assuming Takahashi’s calculations are correct, the swag bag could be one of the most exorbitant press kits ever released. But will it serve its purpose in convincing the world by way of glowing coverage that Halo 3 is a mass media event that transcends rank and file video game enthusiasts like myself?

I’m not so sure.

Halo 3 needs to be more than a great game to achieve its commercial objectives. It needs to boost and maintain solid Xbox 360 sales which have slowed in a post-Wii world. It needs to offset the $10 million plus in marketing costs that Microsoft has so far shelled out. It needs to appeal to a lot more people than it has in the past even though the third installment is largely the same game.

But it will need more than an auspicious swag bag to accomplish all that, and I don’t think any game, regardless of who makes it, is that good.

Take it away, Mr. Jobs:

“We have decided to offer every iPhone customer who purchased an iPhone from either Apple or AT&T, and who is not receiving a rebate or any other consideration, a $100 store credit towards the purchase of any product at an Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store. Details are still being worked out and will be posted on Apple’s website next week… We want to do the right thing for our valued iPhone customers. We apologize for disappointing some of you, and we are doing our best to live up to your high expectations of Apple.”

Nice form. (Thanks, Nic!)