"You're doing it wrong"
But at least you're doing it.
Once you're doing it, you have a chance to do it better.
Waiting for perfect means not starting.
From riding & racing bikes, anything to do with work, being a father, husband or friend: I've got it wrong at some point.
And riding buddies, colleagues, kids, my wife & friends have done things wrong at some point too. To me, the key is to be headstrong enough to keep going but open-minded enough to improve and keep going.
Some goofs are avoidable but often the idea of 'A for effort' applies. Do your best, iterate and up your game. But when it comes to business, what are ways to guide your efforts so that despite getting things wrong, you won't be far off the right track?
For instance, how would Seth Godin launch a new business with $1k and 90 days to spare? TL;DR:
- Market WITH people, not AT them. Your customers are human beings, just like you.
- Focus on the smallest audience possible. You can always expand later.
- Create a remarkable product. If your first 10 customers spread the word about it, you have a winner. If not, collect feedback and start again.
- Create an abundance of confidence. Give away a huge amount of value for free so people trust you in return.
- Make a spinner and spin the wheel. There will never be a perfect time to do anything: do something and stick to it.
Such a solid list of advice all with opportunities to do it wrong but at least you're doing it! : )
with appreciation,
Jon
p.s. here are some phrase you maybe have been saying wrong ; )
❤️ this? Please tweet it, share on LinkedIn or share on FB. 🙏
Cycling
Bicycle Landscape, an ode to the Dutch landscape by Yorit Kluitman
Our friend Yorit Kluitman cycled through all 388 Dutch municipalities & made a beautiful book about it! Press info in English & Dutch.
Follow on insta too!
How Strava is building a niche social network for athletes — without ads.
Strava is big with cyclists. It wants to be big with everyone else, too.
"Strava’s lucky — 80 percent of our audience is outside of the United States. People think we’re just a Silicon Valley phenomenon. It’s just the opposite." – Strava CEO James Quarles
How bike-sharing works
"It is a convenient, environmentally friendly way to get around town, but has flaws"
Thanks Jess for the heads up on this! Jess is helping us edit English content for our client x.bike. Check out their blog for more info on how to do bike-sharing smarter.
Startups
Europe's 100 Hottest Startups 2017 The hottest startups in Amsterdam
Amsterdam's English-speaking community and convenient location makes it an ideal place for startups to flourish. "The city is seen as a gateway to Europe and used as a launching pad for EU test markets," says Keadyn investor and partner Ton van 't Noordende.
Cool to see our friends from Revue & Pastbook included!
Cocoon is shutting down
We founded Cocoon in early 2015 because we wanted to make the process of finding a new job a more equal, informal and fun.
Bummer news from former client Cocoon. : ( Some valuable insight into the lessons they learned here. Good luck on your next ventures Vincent and Martijn! ❤
Chuffed.org & The Thinking Hut: Crowdfunding for Social Causes Workshop on Tuesday, October 17.
- Find your crowd (figure out who is going to support your project and why)
- Tell a specific, inspiring story that your supporters care about
- Set an achievable target and blow it out of the park
- Create a marketing and promotion plan for your campaign
Enter 'twotone30' for an additional 30% off ✌️
Sales
Twotone Amsterdam – Cycling, Startups & Sales
We’re an Amsterdam based sales & PR agency stoked on where startups and cycling meet & we have new team snaps on the site! ; )
I even dusted off my flickr to add the whole set there.
Thank you Lian! ...give her a follow on insta: @saltlake_lian
Slack CEO: How We’ll Use AI to Reduce Information Overload - MIT Technology Review
Stewart Butterfield talks about how machine learning can help your work productivity. Implications posed in the comments are thought-provoking too...
Calendly for Chrome BETA
Create unique event invitations direct in your email. What I've used asisstant.to for but done even better! I've booked nearly 600 meetings through Calendly over the years. ATL represent! :D
p.s. here are some hints at the unspoken etiquette of meeting a new contact for the first time. ; )
Radness
NEW RELEASE: SPACEAGEPOETRY - SPUTNIK | KROOKS Records
SpaceAgePoetry takes you on a trip through space using stories and music.
It’s a combination of deep & slow electronic music and spoken word, that organically evolved out of the shared music taste of Josh Dupree (our colleague Guy's stage name ; )) & Justin Samgar. Samgar is a poet and storyteller who grew up in a cult group, struggled as a young adult and decided to break out.
SpaceAgePoetry is an attempt to translate this journey into music. 🚀
🎶 Listen here: krooks-records.com/album/spaceagepoetry-sputnik 🎶