noises from dog n’ moon.

Addison Road was kind enough to reference us in a post about launching your own music project/band. Great advice for those who wanna “make it” in the music business. The business of music. A business that calls for positioning, branding, market research, and a heaping helping of optimism.

It’s rare that a company actually feels bold enough to use tongue-in-cheek presentation in their advertising and printed materials. This is the first page of a user’s guide for a guitar amplifier by Line 6, a manufacturer of digital music products. Publicly traded, advised by Ivy League suit-types, shipping quantities in the hundreds of thousands, doing millions and millions of dollars in sales each year, pioneering digital technology in the Musical Instrument Industry.

No slouch.

Perhaps one reason for their success was the early adoption of a “3-C” approach to advertising: Cool, Clean, & Clever. I’d say that one of the most endearing qualities of a person is his (or her) ability to be confident without taking himself (herself) too seriously. There is a coolness that comes from a person who doesn’t find it necessary to choke the approachability out of himself by trying to manhandle others’ perception. And the successful companies are just large, complex enties that “feel” like a single person. Line 6 is that guy we like to have at our parties. He’s not gonna break anything. He’s not gonna steal anything. He’s not gonna vomit on your new shirt.

So you’re starting a business? Launching a product? Planning to revolutionize your industry? My first question is simple:

Why should I care?

You’ll find that many startups are destined for painful growth due to the nature and/or personality of the owner of the product. And yes, unfortunately, that could be you. Ask yourself these questions:
• “who cares if I have this product?”
• “Who cares if I’m providing these services?”
Be stern and sober with your answers. I’ve often found that many products were pretty good ideas that weren’t revolutionary enough to capture anyone’s attention.

Let’s use a Pub as an example. Let’s say you intend to open a pub in the local downtown area. You’ve checked out the retail spaces, you’ve spoken with knowledgeable friends about your business plan, and you’ve researched small business loans from your local bank or credit union. That represents the obvious protocol to launch a pub. But the next step is to ask yourself if your pub has any particular personality trait or quirky characteristic that will separate it from the hundreds (or thousands) of other pubs in your area. Will a customized drink put your pub on the map (like the Hurricane did for Pat Obrien’s in New Orleans)? Will your pub represent the one and only disco flavored chic lounge in your area? Will your pub have the largest collection of shotglasses from around the world? Will your pub have the highest barstools (so high, in fact, that patrons have to sign an insurance waiver in case they fall from atop one)? After you’ve answered that question, ask yourself if that quirky trait is enough to pull patrons from their routines and convert them into regulars at your place? (Apple computers are so good that die-hard Windows users are reluctantly making the switch, even though the computers are dramatically more expensive and run on an entirely different **read:unfamiliar** operating system. Is your product as undeniably good and does your marketing mesage address that “undeniable goodness”?) Again, be stern and sober with your answers.

Pubs, music schools, coffee shops, tea houses, guitar amplifiers, church services, and musical artists (and any other marketable idea you can dream of) all share the same difficulties when being created and launched. Each one must undergo rigorous questioning regarding it’s viability and sustainability. Is your product different enough to pull me out of my routine and into yours? And if it is, is it good enough to make it my new routine- or will you get a surge of looky-loos and then a slow tapering off of customers? That’s not a business, that’s called beta-testing, and it happens long before you tell the world you have a product for them.

Please keep in mind that having “that special something” doesn’t promise you long-term success. Adversely, not having a memorable characteristic doesn’t ensure an early demise. But lacking the critical element of novelty ensures that your competition will be that much stiffer. The world is full of mediocrity and the business world is no exception to that rule. If your venture lacks flare, it gets camoflaged by a world of mid-tones, greys, and murmurs. If your business is the cleanest, the newest, the fastest, the smartest, the loudest, the most polite, the most personable, the most moral, the most exciting, or the most comfortable, then the contrast of extremes sets you apart from the rest.

So back to question number one: You have a business… why should anyone care?