i-like-this-stuff-2

A Day in the Life of an Entrepreneur

allesam@tellink.net (Dennis Masella) — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 14:00:05 GMT

From my book, "Everything I know about Marketing, I learned while Juggling" a teaching story with comments upon how marketeing is like juggling

The commute’s not bad, Tim thought as he went down the stairs from his bedroom. There are some benefits working for yourself! Not among them are having a staff to hand work off to, other executives that have responsibilities for accounting, sales, operations. Coming from the corporate world as VP of Marketing, he was not used to wearing so many hats [being a juggling clown in the circus compared to working as a street performer juggling]. But today, he needs to put on his marketing hat, or he wouldn’t have a business to worry about. At least marketing was his background.

One of the oddest experiences after leaving the corporate world was booting up his computer and checking email. Crickets., nothing but crickets! In his VP days he’d have dozens and dozens of emails by now, asking for this or that, meeting notices that meant presentation preparation, requests for numbers, numbers, numbers.

But now, with his coffee mug in hand, he deleted the several spam emails he’d received, opened the few newsletters he signed up for, and then was done with email. The temptation to read Google News (he rarely went to Facebook) was strong, but he resisted. I have to get a lot of work done today, he thought. [Pick up the balls! You can’t perform if you don’t practice]

Today begins the development of a digital marketing plan. [Learning to juggle, developing a juggling routine]

Roasted pumpkin seeds! Who doesn’t love roasted pumpkin seeds? Only those people who haven’t tried them. [Who doesn’t like a juggler?]

He already created the logo [One ball juggling]. He feels good about it after many attempts [Practice one ball juggling. Get it smooth]. The colors and font are right. It can be seen from a distance or stand out on a business card, he thought. At a glance, someone will know who they are and what they do [Visibility. Juggle big balls, clubs, rings,].

The Mission/Vision of the business is clear: Get the word out about the benefits of pumpkin seeds. Go direct to customers but also establish wholesale accounts. [Be where your best audience will be.]

We need to build a marketing list, that’s the main goal, Tim thought. Without a marketing list, it will be hard to make any sales he knew. [Pater to build an audience. “Come one, come all!” Get a few people in the audience and other people will join.]

He understood that studying competitors could help determine how to differentiate his products as well as understand what consumers were thinking. [What are other jugglers juggling these days? What can I do to differentiate?] Going to various social media sites, FB, Instagram, Twitter, and websites, he noticed none of his competitors really talked about how they roasted. [Location, finding the best spot to set up your juggling. Check out the other street performers, even if they’re not jugglers.] They were mainly focused on product descriptions. Customers asked about the ingredients, the health benefits. He saw that there was not much variety on his competitors’ websites, certainly not the sort that he envisioned for his products. [Try to make your juggling routine unique, differentiation]

There was a knock on the door. Opening it, he saw Jim. “Nice of you to show up today!” Tim said. [Juggling with a partner]

“Come on, you know I had meetings this morning,” Jim retorted.

“I know, I know,” Tim laughed. “How was the BNI meeting?” BNI, Business Networking International, is a referral group they learned about. Only one member per profession; their tagline is: Givers Gain. [Location, be where an audience is likely to be.]

“Excellent. We should absolutely join. There were about 20 members and I got to give them a one-minute pitch [the audience in this case]. The printer who recommended the meeting to us brought the cards. They look great. Here.” Jim handed Tim a box of cards.

“I was right. The logo looks fantastic on the card.” [Making tricks visible to the audience]

“Not only that, but I met a web developer at the meeting. She and her partner are coming over later today to discuss building our website.”

“Cool.”

Before getting started on marketing, Tim knew he needed to zero in on his target market. [Know your audience. Families? Kids? People out to be entertained?] Building out personas was key to putting together the right marketing message. The more comprehensive a picture he could create, the more likely his website visitors were to find what they were looking for. He knew he needed to describe real people, down to their name, age, gender, and backgrounds like education, job, income level, family status. What are their values? What are they motivated by? What will they expect when they reach the site? [Knowing who you want in your audience determines where you go to juggle.]

“Ok Jim. Who are we selling to and why are they buying?”

“Well, why did you start roasting the pumpkin seeds in the first place?”

“When I was a kid, we used to buy these little boxes of pumpkin seeds, still in the shell and so salty the shell was white

“Yeah, I remember those. Crack ‘em open with your teeth to get to the seed.” [If you’re old enough, you probably saw jugglers on the Ed Sullivan Show, or maybe at the Ringling Brothers, and Barnum & Bailey Three-Ring Circus.]

“I didn’t give them a second thought until my doctor told me I needed to consume more zinc and magnesium. My first thought was supplements, so I did a Google search. No shortage of supplements in the ads and in the search engine results page (SERP). But then I added ‘foods’ to the search. Low and behold, pumpkin seeds came up as one of the best sources for both. I figured if I snacked on them, I’d get what I needed. Raw, they were good, but once I bought them roasted, I never looked back [simple three ball juggling isn’t enough. Having a routine of tricks is necessary to be a street performer]. They were delicious! Making them for myself was less expensive and having just been restructured out of a job, that was a good thing.”

“So,” Jim enumerated. “Healthy, delicious, and an inexpensive snack.”

They spent some time detailing the three personas [the audience]: parents who want a healthy, inexpensive snack for their kids, the health-minded that understood food should be the source of nutrition, and stores that want a new alternative snack [do the tricks that the members of your audience will enjoy].

By analyzing their competitors’ websites, they came up with a list of keywords that he then tested on Google search. He knew that finding longtail alternatives might improve his chances of beating out the competition. By simply expanding the keyword phrase, the longtail, Tim knew the number of people who were searching for that keyword phrase would go down, but so would the competition for it.

“Jim, start working out longtail keywords for pumpkin seeds.” Jim knew what Tim was talking about. The longtail is represented by a Pareto chart. A broad keyword term has a lot of searchers but also a lot of competitors for that term. Searching “roasted pumpkin seeds” alone was very competitive. Jim tested “hand-roasted pumpkin seeds” and found the competition to be far less. Focusing on this niche might not have as many searches, but it had fewer competitors. He continued to test other keywords: “hot and spicy roasted pumpkin seeds,” “European pumpkin seeds,” “health benefits of pumpkin seeds” [simple three ball juggling is not enough. You need tricks, particularly tricks other jugglers aren’t using].

Once they had a list of keyword phrases and the results, Tim was ready to develop his unique selling proposition (USP). A USP is often the differentiator [juggling knives, chain saws, or even people]. He determined theirs would be:

“Roasted by hand in cast iron skillets. You can taste the difference.”

His next task was to wireframe both desktop and mobile websites [what tricks should go into a routine and when to introduce different juggling equipment]. Wireframing can be as simple as drawing a replica of what goes into a website on the Home page, inside page, or even a specialized landing page. Some folks used PowerPoint; others used organizational chart programs to accomplish the task. Tim stuck to pencil and paper.

Today Google looks at mobile first, then desktop. Over 50% of all searches are done on a phone, so Tim knew he needed to be “thumb friendly” when he laid out his Mobile wireframe [street performers set up so the audience is comfortable and can easily see them]. They were willing to take direct call orders, so the phone number went to the top of page: “Click to call now for something delicious” was the first Call to Action (CTA) [passing the hat]. At the bottom of the page was an offer. “Order 1 lb. today and receive an 8 oz. sample of the Roaster’s choice,” which led to the product page, the second CTA [give the audience what they want, and they’ll toss money in the hat]. The center of the page was a slide show. First slide was a photo of a mother pouring some pumpkin seeds from a bag with their logo on it into a bowl with her child’s hand already snagging some. The second slide was a man sitting on a bench in a park with a smile on his face, hand in a bag of their pumpkin seeds, and to his right in the image, a list of the product nutrients. The last slide was a list of stores carrying the product with the line: “Buy direct or find them at any one of these fine markets.” At the bottom of the list was, “Add your store’s name to the list” [juggling to the various members of your audience so that it looks as if you’re juggling just for them will make them more likely to toss money into the hat].

Tim understood the importance of consistency and continuity in marketing [establishing a reputation. If you choose a location to juggle, go there regularly]. A Content Calendar [the routine] would help him achieve this. Using a simple spreadsheet, he set dates down the side and media across the top. Using his keyword phrase list, he began filling in the subject lines of emails, titles of blogs, and topics of posts and promotions in the appropriate cells of his spreadsheet base on the dates he wanted them published. Now he knew he wouldn’t be bogged down by writer’s block when the time came to work on one of these media [practice your routine, know what tricks you want to do, which equipment you’re going to use, and when. Improvising is good, but not effective when you’re putting on a show].

Knowing that subject lines were the difference between success and failure in email marketing, he was certain to follow some of the concepts he had learned in his corporate position. In the subject line, make an announcement, ask a question, be unique, include a deadline for a promotion, say something unexpected, try a teaser, tell a joke, use FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt). Essentially, stand out from the crowd as a way to encourage the reader to open your email out of the many they may receive in a day [what tricks are successful, which aren’t. Keep working on refining the routine]. Tim’s memory of the stats he would see in the reports he ran told him that 30% opens and 2–3% clickthrough was a good goal with a single email. Through consistency and varied messaging, he had realized in his stats that the 30% would differ from email to email and who clicked through bring the reach closer to 60% and more of an email list over time [some tricks work, some don’t. Some people like certain tricks, others like different tricks].

But first he needed a marketing list. In his experience, he knew the best possibility to draw in website visitors quickly was through Google Ads, Pay per Click Marketing (PPC). Search Engine Optimization (SEO) success might work over time and be a good goal, but time was in short supply. Blogs will help with SEO. Tim knew thinking back to his Content Calendar. But in this case, using all the keywords, broad and longtail, his ad would appear at the top of the results in a search on Google as soon as he set up the ad campaign. Since the searcher used a keyword to reach the search engine results page (SERP), the key to get them to click through to the website was a concise ad that utilized the keyword and a powerful CTA [doing craft shows or where tourists gathered guaranteed an audience with money that wanted to be entertained]. Additionally, the great thing about PPC is that you only pay if they click through to your website! Once you get them there, the buying process begins.

Jim was more the Social Media guy. He used Instagram constantly and Facebook regularly. PPC was available on these outlets as well, though he considered them a bit invasive as no one is searching for products [just juggling on a street corner might work, but people are busy with their lives. You absolutely need to do something special to make them stop, watch, and toss money into the hat]. Utilizing cookies from websites a user visits, ads that might interest the user were most likely to come up in the social media stream [if the street corner is where tourists walk, you may be more successful than trying to juggle in a subway tunnel with commuters]. He also knew these ads would need to be more visual to draw attention [use big balls, clubs, firesticks to draw attention]. He began laying out a few ads in Photoshop, an indispensable tool for marketing. Considering the personas he and Tim worked up, his display ads showed similar images to the slideshow they were planning for the website: a mother and child, an older gentleman, and a video of the roasting process [three ball juggling with tricks].

The day went by quickly as they worked together, mostly in silence, though some classical music played softly in the background [practice, practice, practice, with music on]. Late in the day, the doorbell rang. Jim said, “Must be the web team.” At the door were two women, who looked like sisters, one taller, the other not much shorter. Both young and attractive [working with partners. Be where someone else will bring an audience].

“Hi, I’m Sara,” the taller of the two said with a smile.

“And I’m Laura,” she said with an equally brilliant smile.

Jim comes to the door. “Thanks for coming, Sara! This is Tim my partner. He’s worked up a wireframe and we’ve determined our personas, CTA, and USP.”

“That’s an excellent start! Where can we set up to get to work?”

Tim was surprised. He thought they would sit down, discuss needs and objectives and, most importantly, price. “Uh, here would be good.”

“After talking with Jim this morning, Laura and I started working through some themes that would work best for your business” [knowing the strengths of your partners can determine the routine you will do].

As Sara was setting up her computer she said, “Normally, we’d meet with a client, do a dog and pony show about our work, set up a meeting for the following week, come back and present the proposal including the price. Then we’d wait a week to hear back that we won or lost the project. Talking to Jim this morning, he said you were anxious to get going, so we thought, let’s just get started!” Tim liked what he heard, but worried about the budget.

The first thing Sara did was walk them through some of their past projects. They were both impressed by how professional the sites looked [a lot of people can juggle. It’s how you put together your routine that makes you a professional]. There were two ecommerce sites among them, so Tim knew they understood the issues they would face.

Laura said, “Here are a few themes we thought would work for you.” Themes are the way many websites, particularly when using WordPress, start the process. Tim saw one he liked and Jim agreed instantly. Laura smiled. “That’s the one Sara and I knew would be right for you! Of course, we’ll be personalizing this for you and your product with your colors, fonts and images, so it will look completely unique” [differentiation].

With that, Tim said, “… and the cost is…?” From his past corporate years working with marketing firms, he knew how expensive a site like this could be. Sara, with a sly smile, wrote something down on a piece of paper, slid it across the table to Tim, saying, “A price you can’t refuse.” When Tim looked at it, he laughed. Less than a third of what he expected and well within his budget. But what made him laugh was what was written beneath the price:

“Let’s talk about it over dinner. I’m starved and it’s our treat.”

It was a productive day, a very good day indeed, Tim thought.

A Day in the Life of a Street Performer

allesam@tellink.net (Dennis Masella) — Thu, 10 Apr 2025 20:35:44 GMT

From my book, "Everything I know about Marketing, I learned while Juggling" a teaching story with comments upon how juggling is like marketing

The day is already warm. The craftspeople are nearly finished setting up after a little jostling here and there for a bit more room. He recognizes some of the street performers claiming their own space [observe and research competition]. He needs a good day if he’s to pay his rent on Monday [set goal]. The juggler walks up and down the street [research, analyze the best media]. The largest crowd is expected around noon, the hottest part of the day, and people always seem to be hungry [research, demographics]. Craft shows are the best, he thinks to himself. People with money to spend; change in their pockets from the crafts they are likely to buy. A lot of folks just come for a day out for the entertainment and people watching. They help build the crowds around performers [demographics, market persona].

Ah, look at that tree hanging over the street, he thinks. Shade [location]. On the other side of the street, a couple of mobile food trucks are set up and already have lines [location]. Right now, coffee is as valuable as the silver and gold jewelry in the cases on the one side of the corner under the tree, and the beautiful paintings of Long Island Sound on the other, he thinks. This is my spot... [location]. Walking over to the silversmith, the juggler smiles his biggest smile; a tall, beautiful woman smiles back. “Would it be OK if I juggle here?” he asks. For a craftsperson, street performers can be good or bad for business. Street performers usually gather large crowds, which could mean customers after the show. On the other hand, too big a crowd and there will be no room for people to stand around her space. “Only if your audience doesn’t crowd my space too much,” she insists. His smile turns all the more real. “I’ll stop the show if it does,” promising something he could only hope for today. “My name is Tim.” “Mine’s Sara,” the silversmith replied. The painter, an old salt, already heard the conversation, and nods his consent. The juggler admires the sailing ships out on Long Island Sound frozen in time, the beachscapes, capturing seagulls spying for food. The juggler knows that these two vendors will help him draw his own crowd [location, partnering].

Around 10:00 a.m., the street begins to fill. The juggler finishes his coffee and bagel, sets up his equipment so that each part of his routine will be in easy reach as he needs. Everything in its place and a place for everything, he muses [establishing/developing the message. Keep organized. Save all your files for reuse for another future campaign]. It’s show time, remembering the line from a movie he once saw. “Come one, come all! See the greatest juggling act under the sun, or at least on this part of the street” [visibility, draw the crowd, hyperbole and humility to attract a target market]. Nervous laughter from a few passersby, but they stop, a couple with two small children and a hippie band of three.

First, the simplest three ball juggling, low, close to the audience, rapid quick, but fun, with silly tricks for the kids (giggles) [kids’ persona], complex, hard to follow tricks for the hippies (Wow, man. Far out) [hippie persona]. A crowd is like a crystal. Once it starts, it builds on itself [branding, referrals, social media]. Two more people, three more, then it begins to sweep up all who are passing [social media, sharing, buzz]. The juggling starts going higher and higher, unusual juggling, crisscrossing balls, two at a time, three balls in the air all at once [expanding visibility, uniqueness]. Uh oh, the juggler hits two balls in midair, one flies off wildly, the other falls to the ground bouncing high it the air. The juggler takes two steps to recover the wild ball and picks the second off the bounce and continues as if it is all part of the act, and the crowd applauds, thinking that it is. Some bounce tricks to reinforce the illusion that the dropped ball is all part of the act [learn from mistakes and take them further. Mistakes can sometimes be a valuable source of innovation]. A closing trick, throwing the balls behind his back then catching them behind his back, he swings around, grabbing a fourth ball, showing the crowd, and does a short routine with four. He ends the ball segment of his act with five balls with tricks [differentiation, validation, authority].

The juggler notices by looking out from his juggling to check the eyes of individual members of the audience that he’s connected them to him as if this trick or that was done just for them each time he looks them in the eye; they relate. Those folks nearly always drop something into his hat, with a smile and a thanks [reaching someone personally with your message; Personalization, making them think this is only for them, connecting with customers].

The crowd is getting larger now and he picks up clubs. To applause, he executes a fairly complex set of tricks. Flipping clubs this way and that, behind the back under the leg. Double tosses, triple tosses, quadruple tosses, the crowd applauds every new combination [more differentiation, five-star reviews]. He says to the crowd, “Time for a little lunch,” turns to grab some more juggling items the crowd can’t see, and faces them again holding an open plastic bottle of water, an apple, and a chunk of cheese. As he juggles, the water bottle spins like a club and the centrifugal force keeps the water from spilling out. He bites the apple in stride with his juggling pattern, then the cheese. While juggling those two in one hand he stops the spinning water bottle and drinks. The crowd pushes forward to see and applauds loudly, laughing as he dribbles and drools water with bits of apple and cheese popping out of his mouth [memorable, unique differentiation].

He calls out, “I know it’s hot already, but I’m about to turn up the heat out here.” He reaches for some new equipment behind him. He sees an audience member lighting up a cigarette, he calls, “Hey, how about a light here?” [engage the audience, Content Marketing, Interactivity, social media, sharing]. The audience looks up to see three torch clubs. The Bic lighter brings them to life with a whoosh. “Stand back please,” the juggler says with a concerned frown. “We want no accidents here,” pausing a bit, “today.” Implying in the way he says it that on another day, well, we don’t want that to happen again” [FUD]. The spinning torches sing as they flip and turn. One doesn’t quite turn as far as it should, the burning end landing in the juggler’s palm. The crowd is full of “ooh’s” and “oh no’s” [shock, FUD, use emotion]. But rather than catching the torch, the juggler slaps it spinning it backwards and back on course. He repeats this now as a trick three or four times. He learned this trick by mistake while practicing, catching it on the wrong end and trying to make something of it. It’s all part of the act [mistakes turn into tricks]. Onto the finale, three behind the back, then one straight up into the air, in a triple spin, two in a double spin on either side of the one in the middle as it comes down, and a sweeping bow when all three are back in his hand, blowing them out one by one. The crowd bursts into applause, and the folks in the back begin to walk away.

“Hold on now,” he calls out. “You haven’t seen my best trick.” Quickly grabbing the floppy hat that’s been sitting out front with mostly just his seed money [reviews, promotion], he says, “Making some loose change and large bills disappear from your pockets to find their way into my hat” [use humor, Call to Action]. He moves through mostly the front of the crowd as they laugh, patting him on the back, praising his juggling, tossing money into his hat.

The silversmith’s space is filled as the audience breaks up [Givers Gain™]. He sees that Sara has another woman helping, a sister without doubt by the look of her. He saw her in the front of his audience earlier and may have gotten a glimpse of her in the back at one point [research; measurement, observation]. Between the two of them, they seem to be doing pretty well—money keeps changing hands. The jewelry is beautiful, mostly silver, some stones, some gold. When they finally slow down, the juggler introduces himself and finds, as he thought, two sisters. The helper says, “Hi, I’m Laura. That was some good juggling. You really had your audience, but do you mind if I give you some advice?” [feedback]. The juggler, a little taken aback, responds almost questioningly, “Thank you. Yes.”

“When I was in the front of the audience, I could see your ball juggling really well, and it was a lot of fun. But from the back, the balls look pretty small. If they were a little larger and brighter colors that would help.” The juggler mumbles something to himself about having to buy stage balls which are larger and more colorful [visibility]. “And for the same reason, you need to get your club juggling higher. Catching the burning end of the club and then flipping it was the highlight trick. I heard someone grumble in the audience that all the jugglers you see today do flaming clubs until he saw that [feedback, differentiation]. But most important, you need someone to go out and get money from people before they leave while you’re juggling.” [improved Call to Action, conversion techniques; avoid cart abandonment]. The juggler immediately saw that she was right, but could he afford to hire someone to do it for him? [ROI]. And flaming clubs is his best trick! What else can I do? [increase differentiation, what else can you show me?]. Scimitars? Chain saws?

The lunch cart is building a long line as it edges toward noon. A thought comes to him. If I start juggling now, I have a captive audience that would surely appreciate being entertained while they wait in line [Choosing your media, being where your audience is, location]. He turns to the Laura. “I’m going to juggle for the lunch cart line. Would you mind going up and down the lines with my hat while I juggle?” “Sounds like fun,” she replies [much better call to action].

As he begins his routine, the two lines at the trucks turn to watch, applauding as the tricks get complex or fun. After a bit, Laura moves up and down the line of the “captive audience.” The take is brilliant. Far more than the first performance.

He thanks her, offers some money. “I had fun doing it. Nothing else is needed” [partner], and she walks back to help her sister who is dealing with customers’ hands, greasy from the food trucks.

He continues to juggle for the folks still in the line and the new ones added as the line continues to grow. Now he is juggling extemporaneously with three balls, not passing the hat, just purely entertaining and having fun [it’s not all about money, giving back].

Someone walks up behind Tim. He slows down his juggling pattern into an even tempo. Stepping to Tim’s right side watching the juggling with a curious look on his face, the stranger steps in front of Tim, grabbing the three balls, one at a time, one, two, three balls. Tim acts shocked, outraged [using emotion, shock]. The stranger falls right into pattern, a couple of small overhand tricks, behind the back, and then he eyes the juggler to steal back. Tim steals the balls from the front. They fall into a rhythm of stealing back and forth that even the folks in the crowd could understand as really being in sync [native ad (ads that look like articles)].

Then Tim says, “That’s it. I’m going to get my own balls.” Grabs three from his equipment, he turns and faces the other person that stole the balls doing his own very fine three ball routine for the crowd that continues to gather. The juggler calls out, “Hey!” The person turns, and they immediately fall into a six-ball passing routine. Just as quickly the crowd that has gathered and the now shorter lunch line burst into applause. The passing gets more complex. It’s clear this isn’t a chance meeting [partnering]. From out of nowhere, Laura comes, hat in hand, moving through the crowd with a smile and quick step [Call to Action, conversion].

As the jugglers continue to pass the balls, they move in sync back to the corner, away from the lunch truck so as not to block the trucks customers and to get closer to their equipment. The crowd follows them, food in hand. The jugglers pick up three clubs each. A full routine of club passing begins, overhand passing, under the leg, around the back but possibly the best, back-to-back overhead [differentiation]. As they’re passing Tim calls out, “We’re Tim and Jim, Jugglers Extraordinaire.” Jim hears this letting the juggling pins fly past him falling to the ground and says, “Wha..? Wait. We’re Jim and Tim, Jugglers Extraordinaire, you mean. We talked about this…” Tim nods yes to him saying, “Oh yes, yes…” But as Jim turns his back to pick up the dropped clubs, Tim faces the audience shaking his head no, pantomiming, silently mouthing, “Tim and Jim, Jugglers Extraordinaire.” The crowd laughs. Jim looks up and Tim just scratches his head and shrugs his shoulders in a questioning fashion [branding, remain consistent, use humor to get your point across and to be memorable].

Jim immediately picks up three lacrosse balls, good bouncers, and launches into a bounce juggling routine. Tim comes in from the side and throws in two more balls, one at a time, on a bounce. Now Jim is bounce juggling five balls to exceptional applause. Suddenly they are in the air, no longer being bounced. Tim comes in and steals them away one at a time and starts putting them down, leaving Jim fewer and fewer balls. As Tim pulls out each of the last three, he tosses Jim a soccer ball, a bright yellow tennis ball, and a red, water-filled balloon, muttering something like, “Try that on for size…” “What am I supposed to do with these?” Jim shouts. Juggling these very different weight items, Jim tosses the water balloon high up in the air, spins an arabesque, and the water balloon falls dead center on his head. The crowd roars with laughter [differentiation].

Jim goes back to the equipment and hauls out three hula hoops, one spinning around his middle, and one around each arm. He tosses them to Tim, one at a time, who begins to juggle. A lot of jugglers juggle rings, Tim thinks, but hula hoops? [differentiation, visibility]. Laura steps out of nowhere and wades into the crowd, hat in hand, stretched out. People saying, “Cool,” contributing with their wallets to today’s performance. Jim grabs another hat and works a different part of the audience. This being the busiest part of the day, the take is very good and again the silversmiths’ table is surrounded as the performance ends. Laura pitches right in to help Sara. The painter is overwhelmed as well. Jim and Tim both go over to help, adding their voice to the artist’s, even selling two prints, while the artist sells an impressive oil [Givers Gain™].

What a day, think the jugglers, waiting until the crowds around the vendors die down before they begin their final performance of the day. The crowd is thinning, a lot of bargain seekers; still, these jugglers take every opportunity to juggle together. With this crowd, they try out new tricks, harder tricks, which often fail [find opportunities to test new marketing to small groups before jumping into the larger pool, AB market testing]. But neither of the jugglers worry about dropping a ball. They always see it as an opportunity to improve, to find another trick hidden in the mistake. Of course, they are partners. They love what they do, even though it takes so much time to perfect the routines [salespeople say, “Always be closing”; marketing people say, “Always be marketing”].

Truly, performances are also practice. Mistakes are made that simply become part of the performance. “You were supposed to step in and steal the balls before the balloon came down and then hit you in the head, not me!” “Ah well,” Tim replied. “You looked like you were a bit hot under the collar and needed to cool down. Anyway, the crowd loved it! We should keep it in the act just like that,” Tim says with a laugh. Jim laughs too.

Also, a partner can watch your act from the point of view of the audience [focus groups, the more eyes on a marketing piece, the better]. A trick looked at from the juggler’s point of view may seem wonderful, but fall flat from the audience’s perspective. And conversely, a simple trick done well may astound the audience [point of view, understanding the audience].

The day finally comes to a close. Vendors are packing up. Tim and Jim gather and organize their equipment, having a short conversation. A quick count of their day’s work shows a good day, a very good day. Laura taught them something they should have thought of themselves [continue to educate yourself with new techniques; learn from others]. She is still helping Sara pack up. Tim goes over to them and says, “Thanks to you both we had a great day. Can we invite you out to dinner—on us?” Laura looks at Sara and she nods yes. A very, very good day indeed, Tim thinks.

Preface to "Everything I Know About Marketing, I Learned While Juggling

lkilrea@wsieresults.com (Lisa Kilrea) — Fri, 21 Mar 2025 12:46:04 GMT

Quote: “What is marketing? Placing ideas in peoples’ minds.” Simon G. from LinkedIn Pulse 8/3/14

The Promise

Juggling places the ideas of youth, wonder, awe, and amazement in people’s minds. I remember thinking once after a particularly good performance at a street fair that the folks I entertained that day would go home with a nice memory, some photos, a smile on their face, something to talk about. It was my way of making the world a better place, even if by just a little bit. And now, in this book, you, the audience, will learn a bit about marketing. What will you take home (or to work) with you?

Note: There is this point in juggling at which the balls coming down and going back up seem to balance each other almost as if there is a centrifugal force controlling the movement. It seems as if it is the transference of the downward path/force to the upward path/force. It is all about spheres like the planets revolving around the sun. It is as if you are expending little or no energy while juggling. It feeds upon its own energy. It takes on its own life. I am being juggled. Today this feeling is sometimes called “flow.” A perfect term for it.

It is the same in marketing. Once you get it down, it will seem like it manages itself. It is then that you need to learn a new trick. Often, when you drop a ball while juggling, it pays to notice what just happened: “Wow, wouldn’t it be great if I could control that mistake and turn it into a trick…” A good marketer knows that testing is the best way to improve. Don’t be afraid to do something you’ve never done before. If it doesn’t work the first time, you might learn how to do it successfully the next. Just pick up the dropped ball and start again. Here is your most important lesson: You can’t learn to juggle without dropping balls.

A thought about style/different ways of achieving marketing results.

While juggling on rue Sainte-Catherine in Montreal, hoping for coins to drop in my hat, a short, older man walked up and, in French, asked if he could juggle. I agreed and handed him the balls. He had a tight, low, and very quick juggling style, something I was not used to at the time. I tended to juggle high (and still do). I really enjoyed his short routine with familiar tricks but done in this (to me) unique style. I now incorporate the same style into my routine, moving from his low style to my high style. There isn’t only one way to juggle. There isn’t only one way to market. Find your own style. Incorporate the styles of others when appropriate.

How is AI like juggling?

lkilrea@wsieresults.com (Lisa Kilrea) — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:05 GMT

Prologue – The Advent of Artificial Intelligence

Just as I was going to finally get this book published, AI turned the world upside down, or you would have thought it did by all the hoopla surrounding it. Well, in fact, it has changed everything in marketing, an area where it will make some incredible advancements. Digital marketing of all kinds has already been greatly enhanced by its use.

How is AI like juggling? The balls only sit there unless you pick them up and learn to use them. As in juggling, AI just sits there until you prompt it to do something. All the creativity is still in your hands (and head) to apply to it, just as it is in juggling. I’m not going to rewrite this book adding the prompts that I think would be useful for digital marketing. There will be dozens and dozens of books, classes, and youtubers that will teach you that. But the marketing basics presented stay the same. But now you have a partner that will work with you on your juggling (marketing) routine.

I wondered, what would Artificial Intelligence say about juggling as a metaphor for marketing. So, I asked. Here is the prompt and reply.

Prompt: Explain juggling as a metaphor for marketing:

Juggling can be a useful metaphor for understanding the nature of marketing. Here are a few ways in which juggling can be compared to marketing:

1. Balancing multiple elements: Just like a juggler has to keep multiple objects in the air at once, marketers have to balance multiple elements of their marketing campaigns, such as branding, advertising, social media, and customer engagement. Effective marketing requires the ability to manage all of these elements in a coordinated and balanced way.

2. Adaptability: Juggling requires the ability to quickly adjust and adapt to changing circumstances. Similarly, successful marketing often requires the ability to pivot and adjust strategies based on changing market conditions, customer feedback, or new trends.

3. Precision and timing: In juggling, timing and precision are critical for keeping the objects in the air. Similarly, in marketing, timing and precision are important for launching campaigns at the right moment, targeting the right audience, and delivering the right message.

4. Practice and repetition: Juggling requires a lot of practice and repetition to master. Similarly, successful marketing often requires a lot of experimentation, testing, and refinement to find the strategies that work best for a particular brand or product.

5. Risk-taking: Juggling involves a certain amount of risk-taking, as a single mistake can lead to the objects falling to the ground. Similarly, successful marketing often involves taking calculated risks, such as launching a bold new campaign or trying a new marketing channel, in order to stand out from competitors and capture the attention of customers.

Overall, juggling can serve as a useful metaphor for understanding the complexity, agility, and creativity required for effective marketing.

I think that my book addresses these concepts in its own way. So, thank you, ChatGPT for reinforcing my thoughts.

How to Electrify America with Renewable Energy

lkilrea@wsieresults.com (Lisa Kilrea) — Fri, 24 Jan 2025 12:46:03 GMT

I’ve been trying to get this idea into the hands of someone who can do something about it.

My contribution to help the US move toward a renewable energy future.

Over 15 years ago I started thinking and talking with friends about this concept. I was sure either someone else would come up with the same idea or I would read why this wouldn’t be possible. Now that we have an Administration that might actually consider this proposal, I thought it was time to publish it.

What if we had 47,000+ miles of land upon which we could string solar panels and wind turbines across every state in the US while at the same time creating a national smart grid? Most of us have seen this land. It is called the Interstate Highway System.

We have all driven on these highways as they crisscross the US North/South and East/West. The medians on many of these highways are fairly wide, approximately 50 feet (some less, some more). Add solar panels to the median of these highways and we would have a new smart grid connected across the US touching every state. We would also place wind turbines wherever they make sense.

No need for stealing land through eminent domain. No need for zoning permission. Lots of NIMBY surrounding Solar and Wind Power. Noise from the highway is already a factor of life for those who live close by to it. But even then, we could position the wind turbines in less densely populated areas as there are long stretches of highway with few houses nearby. Of course, we would determine the best spots to place these based on wind patterns.

But we do not need to only use propeller type Wind Turbines. There are two other types that are far less dangerous to birds, less noisy, and turn in just about any kind of wind from any direction, though not as powerful in generating energy. They are called Savonius rotors and Darrieus rotors. These are vertical rather than horizontal like wind turbines. They could be placed along the shoulders of all the roads like telephone or powerline poles; their numbers making up for the reduced power. If you’ve ever stood on the side of a highway with tractor trailers flying by at 70 miles an hour, you know how powerful this wind is. This, and that from cars, is lost energy as it is caused by the truck or car having to push through the resistance of the air. We can recover some of this lost energy by capturing it with wind thus increasing the fuel efficiency of these vehicles.

http://netzeroguide.com/savonius-wind-turbine/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darrieus_wind_turbine

While we’re at it, we can place electric vehicle charging stations at specific intervals along the highways to help speed up the switch over to electric cars and trucks. The electricity would be produced right along the highway.

Climate change is the greatest challenge of our time. We should be committing the urgency we had in World War II in defeating the forces of fascism in the same way.

During World War II, from 1940 to 1945, the US built 300,000 new airplanes, most with multiple propellers. The mighty B52’s among them boasted four very large propellers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_aircraft_production_during_World_War_II

What is a propeller but a wind turbine? Just a couple of years ago, GM layed off 14,000 people and closed numerous manufacturing plants. What if we retrained those workers and retooled those plants to become wind turbine and solar panel production centers? All the fossil fuel employees that will be affected by the transition to renewable energy could be trained as well. Laid off workers would not only learn to manufacture wind turbines and solar panels, but some would also be trained to install them.

This would help save jobs and help reduce carbon emissions as we switch to renewable power and increase exports as we become a leading producer of wind turbines and solar panels.

We could make this a public - private endeavor (though I’m in favor of public utilities). The government supplies funds to train the workers and low interest loans to retool manufacturing facilities. Private companies would pay for the development and construction then sell the energy. The public sector would allow the use of the interstates and lease the land while also taxing profits. Wind turbines and solar panels would be required to be purchased from American companies. We all win.

Once construction is completed, which will take years and employ thousands, manufacturers would continue to sell products domestically and through export. Departments of Transportation in all states would have continuing employment for people to maintain and service all the wind turbines and solar panels on the highways.

My back of the napkin estimate, knowing far less than I should, says this strategy may be able to provide a quarter to a third of all electricity needed in the US. US daily electricity usage is 106,849,315kWh (2019). Solar panels 6ft high 48ft wide 6ft apart across 47,000 miles would produce 20,680,000kWh. Wind Turbines one mile apart for 47,000 miles would produce 7,050,000kWh. Darrius rotors spaced 100ft apart across 47,000 miles would produce 5,000,00kWh. This totals 32,730,000 or 30% of total US electricity usage. All very conservative estimates.

All along the highway, there would be whatever excess storage facility that makes sense for an area. Batteries for some, molten salt for others, raising huge bricks to drop when power is needed, water shifting to higher terrain, twisting cables, and others not yet thought of so no energy is lost and will always be available.

Because this is a national grid, power would be shared across states, so when the sun isn’t shining in one area, it uses the sun from another. If the wind isn’t blowing here, not there? It is shared. When the west coast is still fast asleep, the east coast will be rising with the sun already producing energy and as the sun goes down on the east coast, the west will still have sunlight.

Does this seem far-fetched? We need to think big, like the highway system itself, the moon shot, 300,000 planes built to defeat fascism. Someone must have thought about this before and maybe there is a reason it cannot be done. But, I wanted to suggest it now that we're investing in the future of America again.

The Edge of What I Know

lkilrea@wsieresults.com (Lisa Kilrea) — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 12:46:04 GMT

12/08

I saw the edge of what
I know
the edge and just beyond

Beyond where words have lost
all meaning
And thoughts refuse to form

Where mystic truths reveal
the moment
The moment and then it’s gone

I saw the edge of what
I know
the moment and not beyond

Available at Amazon, my book of poems and song lyrics, " The Edge of What I Know "