Creating an online survey using Google Forms from Kathleen Farley on Vimeo.

This is a screencast tutorial that covers the basics of creating online surveys using Google Forms, including:

- adding different types of questions (multiple choice, checkboxes, text, etc.)
- planning and setting up conditional branching questions
- creating a custom confirmation message
- applying a theme to your survey page
- testing your survey
- creating a custom alias URL using TinyURL, and
- viewing your survey responses

A few weeks ago, my awesome friend Kim Gardner and I attended Startup Weekend in Toronto. It was a blast, and it confirmed to me something I strongly believe: good ideas are important. Good execution even more so.

ICT consulting dude Andrew Jenkins laments that

There is no lack of ideas. What seems to be missing, however, is an execution mindset. We too frequently allow gaps to form between our ideas and our ability to execute them.

I agree with Andrew. I hear great ideas all the time. But most of us have forgotten how easy it is to turn an idea into something tangible.

Maybe we just need more practice.

Enter Boring Soap.

Kim and I planned, built and launched our pop-up startup, Boring Soap, in just 48 hours. We did it for fun, and also to test out some marketing ideas we’d read in Youngme Moon’s Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd (easily one of my favourite books this year).

But the main reason we decided to launch Boring Soap was to practice executing.

Let me give you some background: I make soap. If you were on my Christmas list last year, you got some of this soap. And the first thing you probably did when you got your soap was smell it, and it smelled like… nothing. Because I don’t use any additives – at all. No artificial colours, no fragrances, no essential oils – nada.

It makes for very nice soap that cleans well… and that’s about it. I (briefly) considered setting up an Etsy shop, then decided it just wasn’t worth it. Making soap using the cold process soapmaking method is a labour-intensive gig. It’s fun – and the costs are reasonable, especially if you can get the ingredients on sale – but I wouldn’t want to have to make batch after batch on a daily basis. Which is pretty much the only way I could make any reasonable profit.

Plus, it’s hard to market a boring soap against this:

Fringe Alchemy Fleur de Lys Ginger Rosewood Soap

Lather Bee Rich Papa Bob's Patchouli Spice Soap

Pink Door Aromatherapy Handmade Soap

LEAP Organics Lavender Clove & Orange Certified Organic Shea Butter Body Bar

Compared to these, my soap is very boring. In fact, you could say that’s exactly what differentiates this product.

On September 21 (yes, it actually was a Tuesday) I came up with the idea of Boring Soap. The following Friday, I pitched Kim on the idea of launching it together in 48 hours. We both got really excited. Then we set a date, and resolved not to do any work on the project until then.

(Well, that’s not quite true. I caved and bought the domain name, installed WordPress, and put it in maintenance mode. I also picked up some soapmaking ingredients because there was a great sale on olive oil at my local grocery store.)

Then on Saturday, October 16, Kim came over to my house. She stayed overnight so we could work into the wee hours. This is what transpired over the next 48 hours:

• Saturday evening: Made soap. Enough for 36 bars. Our opening inventory. (Figured that if they don’t sell, no problem. Our Christmas gifts are covered this year.)

• Sunday morning: Discussed branding/marketing strategy. Collaborated on FAQ. Used this as the basis for everything else. Brainstormed creative ideas (promo videos, CureCam™, packaging).

*Collaborating on the FAQ was super fun. Kim and I each wrote 10 questions, then gave them to the other person to answer. The results were hilarious. This was when we decided on the overall direction for the website.

• Sunday afternoon: Created logo. Wrote marketing copy. Started building website. Set up Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, and MailChimp accounts.

• Sunday evening: Took product photos. Shot video footage. Wrote video scripts. Started video editing. Finished and posted 2 videos. Worked on website.

• Monday morning: Worked on website. Finished and posted 2 more videos. Cut soap into individual bars.

• Monday afternoon: Took bio photos. Researched shipping costs. Set up PayPal store. Launched website. Started plugging on Facebook and Twitter.

And that’s how Boring Soap was born.

The reactions have been interesting. So far, they’ve generally gone like this:

1. Hilarious! Love it!! LOL!

2. Is this for real?

To answer the question: Is it for real? Well, yes and no.

Yes, it’s a real product, and yes we are selling it. If you buy it, we will take your money and ship it to you. (It actually is really good soap, BTW.)

Is it a real, profitable business? Probably not. We’re not set up to manufacture Boring Soap in the kinds of quantities we’d need to sell to be profitable. We could look into solving these scalability issues, but I’ll be frank: there’s only so much you can do in 48 hours. Kim and I both had a ton of other ideas we just didn’t have time to execute. (Although yes, we are actually considering a follow-up weekend…)

At the risk of offending some startup purists, the main point of our startup wasn’t to make profit. It was to practice executing.

I’m calling it our Pop-up Startup.

It’s kinda like Startup Weekend, an event where local developers, marketers, and designers get together and start companies in 54 hours. But Startup Weekend puts a lot of emphasis on building startups that can actually go big. Participants are actually competing to win startup funding. Everyone is trying to make connections with angels and venture capitalists. Sure, the organizers emphasized the fun and educational aspects too — but the final presentation on Sunday night was all Dragon’s Den. The startup with the biggest profit potential won the game.

That’s cool. I get it. (Congrats, by the way, to Task Ave, winners of the first Toronto Startup Weekend. You guys did a great job!)

I’m guessing however that lots of folks are just not interested in going that route (yet, or maybe ever). But there’s still a lot of benefit to getting better at executing your ideas.

Pop-up Startups are primarily learning experiments. And Kim and I both learned a lot this weekend. First of all, brainstorming and creating and working like hell for 48 hours straight is FUN! And humour sells. (Or at least it gets people’s attention… we’ll see if it actually sells any soap.)

The experience also confirmed for me that Kim and I really enjoy working together. (Note to potential startup co-founders: Do you actually LIKE working with your partner? Try a pop-up startup to find out!)

Kim and I also really sharpened up our writing, coding, video editing and general problem-solving skills. We ran into a ton of challenges – misbehaving plugins, uncooperative RSS feeds, video conversion errors, CSS issues, crappy internet connections… the list goes on. We even ran out of lye while making our final batch of soap on Saturday night. Let’s just say it wasn’t smooth sailing.

But we made it:

So I encourage you to start your own Pop-up Startup. Here are the rules:

1. Do it with a partner. Having someone else involved is a good motivator. You can help each other stay focused.

2. Set aside a 48-hour period. Most people can clear their schedule for a weekend, if they really want to. Schedule that time and stick to it. Pick a home base to work from.*

*Kim and I live in different cities, so she stayed over at my place for the weekend. Our home base was my dining room table.

3. Brainstorm. Get really excited. Exchange lots of high-fives. Stay positive and avoid “blocking” — focus on the possible, not the impossible. You’d be surprised. At the same time…

4. Pick something that’s doable in 48 hours. Scale back where necessary in order to be able to meet your launch deadline. Whatever it is, it’s gotta be done in 48 hours. No “we’ll finish this later this week” or “let’s schedule another day to finish this up.”

Feel free to break any of these rules.

Good luck!

PS If you launch a Pop-up Startup, please let me know!

My greyhound Bing is quite a photogenic fellow, and he knows it. The moment he sees a camera, he totally hams it up.

Recently they made a video to promote the BISHPets program, which is a program Bing and I volunteer with. Bing isn’t in EVERY single shot, though it’s not through his lack of trying. Check it out:

Seriously… Bing and I volunteer every week at Paws for Reading, a children’s literacy assistance program at the Hamilton Central Library.

I will be frank: it’s a million different shades of awesome.

If you know anyone in the Hamilton area who might be interested in becoming a BISHPets team, please send them this video. This is an amazing and innovative program, and we need more pet/handler teams. Please spread the word. Thanks!

Ian, Michael and the rest of the Catherine North gang released this song today in celebration of Dan Achen’s birthday:

Ian Smith – Passing Trains by Catherine North

Happy Birthday Dan. We still miss you. Every day.

FYI: The last time I edited anything, it was on a flatbed editor. Final Cut Pro = awesome fun.

Catherine North MashUP Teaser from Catherine North MashUP on Vimeo.

Too many people to thank for helping me make this event happen: Karyn, Ian, Michael, Duke, Tristan, Marcone, Moussa, Ivar, Long, Paul…

Just so you know, those two years I spent in film school weren’t an absolute waste of time:

I’m a fan of Hugh MacLeod’s work as well as his blog, Gapingvoid.

Quality isn't Job One...

According to Hugh,

A couple of decades ago, Ford had a tagline for its car commercials: “Quality is Job One”.

Well, that may be fine if you’re a big, old car company, but it never quite grabbed my imagination. I figured if you’re a young, small company, or a person wanting to make a difference on a tiny shoestring budget (like I was), stronger words might be more appropriate.

You can subscribe to Hugh’s “Remember who you are” daily cartoon via email.

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." –Marcel Proust

On Monday night we lost our friend and mentor Dan Achen. RIP Dan, we miss you and we are grateful for the happiness and inspiration you brought into our lives.

So… I’ve succumbed to the lure of Canadian Gardening’s “So You Think You Can Garden” contest. The winner gets to blog for 6 months for CanadianGardening.com. I think this would be a fun opportunity to get some extra writing in about topic I’m nuts about already: gardening.

This is how it all begins

Here’s an excerpt from my entry:

My initial secretive attempt at age 5 to grow an apple tree in my parents’ cellar was, admittedly, a dismal failure. But I grew up in small-town Ontario, close to my grandparents who had an enormous garden in their big sprawling backyard. Because of this, I grew up knowing that carrots came from the earth, and raspberries from prickly canes. Tomatoes started as strappy seedlings jutting out of recycled cans, lined up like tin soldiers on a shelf in my grandparents’ porch. Read the rest…

As of today (March 5), my entry’s been viewed almost 3,000 times. Holy cow! Got some nice comments too from friends, family, neighbours and even some strangers.

More happy news on the gardening front: Walking home from the library this afternoon, I spotted a poster for an upcoming Seedy Saturday… happening in downtown Hamilton! (Just down the street from my house, in fact.) This is a LOT more exciting to me than the Seedy Saturday that happened at the Royal Botanical Gardens. Anyway, it’s all happening March 20, full details here. Gotta get more myfolia.com serendipity swap seed packets ready…