In a Startup, the Tortoise always beats the Hare

September 22, 2011 By 1 Comment

In a Startup, the Tortoise always beats the Hare

I frequently get asked how to start a business and I’ve found that while some people might want a five step answer, they’re really just looking for a real and “touchable” concept that they can relate with and apply to their business idea, so here is another concept that might provide you with a good “Start-Up Pick-Me-Up.”

I’ve copy and pasted this from a Facebook message that I wrote to a person regarding how to start a business.   This person was frustrated with how long it was taking and how many obstacles they were encountering, so with that context, please enjoy this and feel free to pass it along to anyone else that you think needs it:

Thanks ____, well, it sounds like you’re getting things figured out a little better then. If it helps, here’s something that might give you the right motivation now…

If you’ve ever read the book the Tortoise and the Hare (rabbit), then you know who wins the race… the Tortoise, although he is a ton slower than the speedy rabbit. The cool thing is that no matter how many times you read the book the Tortoise always wins. The Hare never wins because the hare always gets side-tracked and distracted from the goal and when the hare looks at his competition he thinks he has time to spare, so those distractions grow and get him further and further off track. As long as you stay true to the course and keep moving, you’ll see that just like the hare, you’ll cross that finish line with amazing success… but it probably won’t happen overnight and it will require diligent work, but just remember… every time you read the Tortoise and the Hare, the Tortoise always wins and so can you if you keep moving at a steady pace towards your goal.

~Bill

Filed Under: New Startup Tagged With: ,

Drinking Water in the Morning- Why I drink 1 Cold Cup within 30 minutes of waking up

September 14, 2011 By 6 Comments

Drink 1 Cup of Cold Water within 30 minutes of waking up

We all know that water is good for us, but there is one aspect of water that has changed my life and helped give me the energy that I need to keep up with my schedule.  Outside of my experiences growing up on tennis team and going to basketball camp, I don’t remember much emphasis on water consumption for anything other than to stay hydrated during athletics.  Basically muscle cramps and fear of passing out from dehydration were the common motivating factors in staying near the cooler.

I can’t remember who first told me about the benefits of drinking a cold cup of water within 30 minutes of waking up, but since then, I have implemented it into my morning routine and my work productivity has gone up, and throughout the day, I feel better.  Hopefully these 3 things will help you decide to begin your day with a cup of cold water too.

1. Staying Hydrated- Ok, I don’t need to hammer this point anymore because you probably have heard this already , but staying hydrated actually helps you not feel tired.  If you move from hydrated to dehydrated, some typical symptoms can include dizziness, headaches and diarrhea.  If you feel thirsty, you are already dehydrated, so it is kind of ironic that the “Most Interesting Man in the World” commercials (see video below) urge the viewers to “Stay Thirsty My Friend.”  Haha, not great advice if you want to feel good.

2. Jump-Starting your Metabolism-  This is great if you need the kick-start in the morning.  Forget the cup of coffee, instead drink a cup of cold water or tea and eat an apple.  That being said, there are mixed opinions if coffee actually dehydrates you, but to avoid the situation altogether, just have a cup of water near when you drink your coffee because no one likes that light headed feeling you can get after you crash from the caffeine… the water will help avoid this.

3. Improve your Appearance- This is probably the most vain of the reasons, but drinking water in the morning will instantly hydrate you and  improve blood circulation in your body.  Again, there are mixed opinions as to how effective this is for removing toxins from your body, but this topic is discussed enough that I believe it is at least worth mentioning water consumption… who doesn’t want to appear better looking and healthier?

I’ve realized that he cup of cold water in the morning helps me get going and it really helps me start my day on the right foot with more energy than if I didn’t have it.  Give it a try and see if it changes your work habits and overall health.  It just might make as big of a difference for you as it did for me.  Let me know what you think!

Filed Under: Health Tips Tagged With: ,

My Business, Re-Branded & Re-Positioned

September 8, 2011 By 6 Comments

Over the past 3-4 weeks it has been hard to blog because of how busy I have been with my online custom t-shirt company, Coed Monkey.  It all started last October when I got an idea for a brand new ordering system that would revolutionize the way people order shirts online (I’ll tell you more about this in another post sometime), then it continued when I interviewed 15 web companies to find the right fit and now with re-branding and re-positioning my company for the new website in November.   Following the tried and true branding methods of branding/positioning guru Al Ries, here’s a sneak peak at what will be coming in the future of Coed Monkey…

This is our “Big Face” logo that is our main logo, but I don’t like how intricate the design is or how many colors are in it.  The text get’s lost and I wanted a fresh face for the new site, so you can see the difference on the right… You’ll also notice the color change.  This will look cool on our site and also as a Favicon next to the web browser.

This is our “Ice Cream” logo, which earned that name because it reminded me of an old school ice cream shop sign.  This will be the main logo that is on the top left of our site from now on as we try to position our company as a trusted and hassle-free online custom t-shirt company… so the Big Face logo will be secondary to this so that people constantly see our company name instead of a monkey face that they might forget.

We used to emphasize Trust by having this logo to the left, but to increase our branding with the monkey we’ve put it in the new monkey face to reiterate the statement that we are trying to convey.


Our old tagline was cocky, bold and arrogant… but kind of the tagline that you are taught to make in marketing classes.  However, what did it do for us when you compare this tagline with our biggest competitors that people actually recognize?  People don’t assume that we are the best because we say it… in fact, it doesn’t help us because we are not positioning ourselves any different from our competition besides saying “we’re the best…” but what does that do?  now we are emphasizing “Hassle-Free” which our competition does not emphasize.


This is going to be the standard shirt design that we give away at Residence Life conferences from now on… instead of giving away a shirt with our logo that no one really wants to wear past that day or at the gym.


Well, there you go… about 3 months of work condensed in one blog post.  What do you think?

Filed Under: Branding, Positioning Tagged With: , , ,