Business With Passion: Maker Faire

Videos


Trailer:

This episode showcases some of the passionate “Makers” who were at Maker Faire 2009:

Dale Dougherty is the editor and publisher of MAKE, and general manager of the Maker Media division of O’Reilly Media, Inc. He is also the founder of Maker Faire.

Email: dale@oreilly.com

——————————————————————

Michael Shiloh is an engineer, hobbyist, researcher, artist, and educator. Michael creates by himself and collaborates with children and students of all ages and with other electro-mechanical artists, including San Francisco-based Survival Research Labs. Michael works with foam core, concrete, computers, hot glue, steel, Linux, electronics, pneumatics, hydraulics, remote controls, and broken glass. Michael has taught workshops and classes at museums, schools, trade shows, and universities.

Website: www.TeachMeToMake.com
Email: michael@teachmetomake.com

——————————————————————

Laura Allen is a Bay Area educator and greywater activist. She has a BA in Environmental Science from UC Berkeley, and a teaching credential and masters in education from the New College of California. She is a co-founder of The Greywater Guerrillas and co-editor of Dam Nation: Dispatches from the Water Underground. She has been designing and installing greywater systems for the past ten years.

Website: www.greywaterguerrillas.com
Email: laura@greywaterguerrillas.com

——————————————————————

Tom Igoe teaches courses in physical computing and networking, exploring ways to allow digital technologies to sense and respond to a wider range of human physical expression. Coming from a background in theatre, his work has centered on physical interaction related to live performance and public space. His current research focuses on ecologically sustainable practices in technology development. He co-authored the book “Physical Computing: Sensing and Controlling the Physical World with Computers“.

Website: tigoe.net or itp.nyu.edu/tigoe

——————————————————————

People have often described Jessica Hobbs as someone trying to lead a compulsively artistic life, which is more or less true. She started off her adventure in a small Sierra Foothill town and eventually meandered her way to the San Francisco Bay Area. Along the way Jess has worn many hats; running and creating community art programs, counseling teenagers, curating, exhibiting, designing, photographing and organizing. She is an MFA graduate from the San Francisco Art Institute. She believes collaboration is key in community and art. This idea formally began with her collaborative performance work at UCSC and has continued to be a core element in her life. Her ability to organize and collaborate has lead her to her current passion combing art and alternative energy at the ALL Power Labs, an incubator for open source power experiments. This passion is the driving force behind the creation of the Escape From Berkeley (by any non-petroleum means necessary) alternative fuels road rally in October, 2009.

Email: jess@escapefromberkeley.com
Website: www.gekgasifier.com or www.escapefromberkeley.com

——————————————————————

Dan Goldwater was trained as an electrical engineer but has always been drawn to the artistic possibilities of his craft. Dan was a scientist at the MIT Media Lab when he built his first art bike, a bike which inspired some of MonkeyLectric’s current work. More recently Dan was a founder of technology development firm Squid Labs and DIY community site Instructables.com. Dan’s work has been featured in Nature and in the Smithsonian.

Website: www.MonkeyLectric.com
Email: info@MonkeyLectric.com

——————————————————————

Alex Andon‘s fascination with marine animals was sparked on a sail through the British Virgin Islands, while free-diving through underwater tunnels in coral reefs. He went on to work for the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece, camping on beaches in Crete to protect nests and hatchlings. Alex accumulated extensive experience in setting up aquariums for his own research projects at Duke and the University of Delaware. He founded Jellyfish Art on a platform of cutting-edge jellyfish breeding techniques that have been developed over the past decade. Alex has a B.S. from Duke in Biology and Environmental Science.

Website: www.jellyfishart.com
Email: jellies@jellyfishart.com
Phone: 415-810-3343
Address: 1145 Florida St, San Francisco, CA 94110
Twitter: @JellyfishArt or @alexandon

Business With Passion TV Show Logo

A Tagline For An iPhone Application?

Names + Taglines

It is difficult to create iPhone applications as you need to learn the iPhone SDK and a new programming language called Objective-C.

We have created a product called MotherApp (http://motherapp.com/). It is an automated application generator that allows developers to create native mobile applications using HTML instead of Objective-C. It significantly lowers the entry barrier of mobile application development and speed up the development process by at least a factor of 10. We believe this will enable those programmers without mobile expertise to create interesting mobile applications.

Advantages:
Fast: MotherApp dramatically reduces your time-to-market. Once your site follows our HTML specification, MotherApp creates the corresponding client immediately.

Easy: Most people know HTML. Very few people know Objective-C. MotherApp enables people to use what they know to create what they don’t know.

Powerful: Unlike web apps running on the web browser, our native clients are 100% iPhone apps and have access to phone features such as GPS and camera.

Here are some taglines that we have been thinking. Suggestions welcome!
Create iPhone apps without the SDK.
Create iPhone apps without the expertise.
We democratize iPhone development.
We simplify iPhone development.
Open up iPhone development.
Enable web developers to create iPhone app.
Simple solution to iPhone development.
Simple path to iPhone development.
Turn websites into iPhone apps.
Create iPhone apps in HTML.
Let MotherApp create the apps for you.

(Aside: using X/HTML still requires a certain level of skill set for your users, but not as high as Objective-C. If you really want to lower the bar to entry, consider a graphic front end to the whole process – so the user can be anyone who can use a WSYIWYG system that you create. That’ll make it possible for non-programmers to create iPhone Applets).

###

Jay’s Answer: The obstacle that you may have in your tagline is that people may not know what they need to create an iPhone app. They may assume it’s techno-heavy or may not. Many of your suggested taglines are talking about difficulty/expertise required.

As your software is currently packaged, you’re offering a way for web designers (or others who are already HTML-savvy) to write a web app. Your “Create iPhone apps in HTML” states this, but doesn’t answer the question “…but is that good?”.

For example: Create iPhone Apps In A Day, speaks to the benefit they get (speed of development).

A Tagline For Medical Mobile Imaging?

Names + Taglines

We are looking for a catchy tag line for a medical mobile imaging business. We go to doctor’s offices, nursing homes and small hospitals and provide ultrasound and imaging services for their patients.Convenient for the doctors and patients.

###

Jay’s Answer: Here are some ideas to get you thinking:

  • Testing Convenience For Your Patients
  • Imagine No More Waiting.
  • Bring Imaging Service In-House
  • Get Results Quicker. Fast and Easy.

How Can I Justify Expensive Advertising?

Publicity

I work for a small english charity that sells aids and adaptations to blind/partially sighted people – I am their fundraiser. We currently knock out the gear from 3 geographically separate offices – sight centres. These need to stay, because it is important that clients get to try equipment before they pay, but attendance is very poor and sales low. V. expensive.

I want to put together a pamphlet/catalogue that highlights the service and lists the stuff we sell and send it out to a cold list of appropriate people in our area – not just to sell the kit, but to promote the charity and encourage donations from people not blind/part sighted but who may sympathise and thereby increase our donors list.

Its expensive and my budget isn’t up to it – what’s the best way to make a case for this so my budget is upped next year?

###

Jay’s Answer: The success of your advertising is based on many variables: your copy, your target market, the quality of your targeted list, etc.

Instead of trying to start with a big campaign, start with a smaller test case (and work to improve the ROI of the campaign over time). As you figure out what message works, then grow the test cases into larger areas (bootstrapping yourself as necessary).

Also, instead of sending out catalogs, you might consider sending out stories. Don’t forget that some great recent stories may make great PR for your local media (and a no cost to your organization). At Xmas, tell stories about Xmas. At Fathers’/Mothers’ Day, tell stories about fathers and mothers, etc.

What’s a Creative Way To Give a Huge Presentation?

Services

I have a huge opportunity with a potential new client. We are a marketing firm (small but growing) and have been called into give a big presentation to a proposal we submitted.

The thing is… I need to be unique and fun about it. This is an organization similar to a zoo. Their whole environment is unique, fun and kid friendly. I don’t want to come in a do a try presentation about our services and proposal.

Do you have any ideas about what I can bring, how I can get creative about this?

###

Jay’s Answer: There’s a balance between effective presentation and over-the-top creative.

Your #1 goal is to win the job. Presumably you’ve done your homework, known their business/marketing strategy, and created a plan that balances their resources with their goals.

The creative that you add must not detract from your core message (by making it about your company). Ideally, the creative should help the company be able to experience your marketing ideas through both the eyes of their company AND through the eyes of their target audience. For example, if you can find video footage of their audience experiencing the message (perhaps for a different company/product).

Gimmicks can easily come across as gimmicky. Consider making a segment of your presentation using your words, but with children’s voices.

A Unique Name For A Wedding/Event Planner?

Names + Taglines, Starting Out

I am going to school to become a wedding and event planner, and i need help coming up with a name that is unique,and a lot of other business don’t have.

###

Jay’s Answer: Believe it or not, a business name is one of the last things I tell my clients to create (yet it’s often the first thing people want to create). Why? Because the name needs to appeal to your target customers. (For more information read my previous article on creating a marketing strategy )

If you’ve clearly identified your target market, what offering you have that’s different/better than the competition, and why you should be trusted.

But wait. You’re in school now, and want to start somewhere. You’re new, don’t have the contacts, list of glowing testimonials, nor a good understanding (perhaps) of the whole wedding/event planning business.

So you start by picking a specific area you want to focus on. It turns out that saying “I can plan any event” is much less interesting to prospective clients than saying, “I specialize in weddings for 40-year-olds who are getting re-married in the Greater Boston area”. But won’t you lose out on clients who aren’t 40-something, or are getting married for the first time, or even a business that wants you to plan their holiday extravanganza? No – you wouldn’t be getting their business in the first place. People are looking for specialists. When you think you’ve broken a bone, who do you see: a general doctor or a orthopedist? You pick the specialist to match the problem.

You wanted a unique name. That’s not as important as you think. It’s not about the name – it’s about the marketing plan of that business. “Secmele’s Wedding Planning” could be as good as name as “Weddings Galore” or even “Corporate Shindigs”. It all depends on your clients first, and your marketing positioning.

A Tagline For A Home Services Company?

Names + Taglines

We are starting an integral home services company. Services include:plumbing, gardening, electric, general maintenance, repairs, cleaning, etc) Our prospective clients are middle to high income homes and small business as well as apartments and condos. We are trying to get customers that would pay a little more than regular service companies, in exchange for a good service, good presentations, security, and punctuality. Could you give us some ideas of good taglines?

###

Jay’s Answer: Here are some tagline ideas to play with:

  • Service Beyond Your Expectations
  • 4 Star Service For Your Everyday Needs
  • Your Property Is Our #1 Concern

Advice On How To Get Published?

Publicity, Starting Out

I have recently applied (& failed) for an Assistant lecturer’s position in Marketing. I failed in part due to my lack of publications (i.e. I haven’t any publications). I have 6 years marketing experience + a first class honours Business & Marketing degree. I currently don’t have anything written or research topics or contacts in the publishing world.

So I am looking for advice for: identifying a suitable topic and actually getting published.

###

Jay’s Answer: You’ll want to find a topic that is your “sweet spot” – something that you’re passionate (or at least interested) in AND is something that others care about also. What is important is that your opinion needs to me more than “yes, I agree with the common wisdom” – it needs to either enhance the current thinking or show why the common thinking is wrong. Ideally, you don’t want just your opinion – you need data that proves your thesis. And if you have a topic is that’s really juicy, you can publish your thoughts from many different angles: as it applies to corporations, small business, target markets, niches, etc.

A Tagline For an Assisted Living Facility?

Names + Taglines

I will be opening a small assisted living facility for 6 elderly residents. It is located in an upscale neighborhood and we will provide assistance with the activities of daily living 24/7. The company name is Space Coast Assisted Living and we are calling the home Hammock Pointe Manor. Typically the elderly parent is the resident, but it is usually the family that makes the decision on the facility. We are thinking the keywords comfort, compassion, confidence in a home-like setting are what we are trying to portray. I can’t quite condense it into a memorable tagline though.

###

Jay’s Answer: The key for a tagline is to have it fit your business like a glove, otherwise the tagline is generic. All assisted living businesses should evoke trust, caring, comfort, safety, and confidence. That’s a given. But what about your facility makes it different/better from the other facilities people can choose from? Who specifically would be an ideal client for your facility and why?

How Can I Increase Subscribers To My Weekly Magazine?

Products, Publicity

I have a new newsletter called the Monday Morning Business Mentor Weekly. I need some wisdom/strategies for getting the word out, getting subscribers. It is a free newsletter, my objective is to help others build their businesses and in turn find subscribers, clients and in the future, users of my services and software.

###

Jay’s Answer: From a strategy perspective, I’d first start with your desired subscriber/client. What industry are they in? Where are they located? How big is their company? How much do they make annually? How old are they? Male or female? Will they work with you face-to-face or remotely?

Once you’ve identified WHO, then you need to figure out WHY they need you. What specific problem are you targeting? More revenue? More free time? Hiring? Startup angst?

Then, HOW do you help them solve their problem. What are you offering that’s unique and (ideally) proven to solve this problem? The more proof, the more trust.

Once you have some of these basics, then it’s time to figure out where your target market is. Do they read the same blogs, magazines, eZines, etc.? Do they attend certain conventions, watch same TV shows, webinars, etc.? Where they are is where you want to pitch your newsletter.

Finally, if your newsletter articles are 250+ words, write articles and publish them. Ideally, exclusively publish them in magazines that your target market read. Alternatively, publish them in article banks.