ThoughtShot Consulting :: Karrie Kohlhaas. Grow Your Business. Smarter.

SHINE: What does it mean to be an entrepreneur?

Karrie Kohlhaas — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 23:39:04 +0000

Over 500 entrepreneurs were involved in the making of this movie. SHINE is an exploration of what entrepreneurs go through to find and maintain their independent lifestyle. I was both interviewer and interviewed and had an amazing experience being on both ends of SHINE. Find out how I view the path to entrepreneurship. You might be a little surprised by what you hear…

I’d love to read your comments below.

SHINE Official Trailer 4 from Dan McComb on Vimeo.

SHINE will debut in Fall 09 in Seattle.

Nomination for Top 25 Innovators…

Karrie Kohlhaas — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 06:59:17 +0000

Jacob and Susan of Office Nomads

I just nominated Office Nomads for Seattle Business’ Top 25 Innovators. Read my nomination letter below…

Susan Evans and Jacob Sayles created Office Nomads, a coworking community for entrepreneurs and freelancers. Independent types who had sworn off “the office” and went solo have been lured by the siren song of genuine community at this coworking space on Capitol Hill. The space is open so “Nomads” don’t feel boxed in by the very cubicles they once fled. The goal is to blur the often hard lines between people and let go of our cultural habit of living highly compartmentalized lives. Instead of going to a coffee shop or working at home alone, Nomads enjoy office banter, and all the amenities of an office space without the hierarchy of a corporate employer or the isolation of working alone.

Sayles says that we often fool ourselves into thinking we are “more efficient” working alone, “without distraction”. An underlying passion behind Office Nomads is the encouragement of healthy, human distraction–the connection so many crave. Nomads are a thriving example that you can get work done in the presence of others. Sayles and Evans poke some big holes in the erroneous assumption that isolation in the name of efficiency is the kind of culture people are seeking.

When a Nomad has a question, someone in the room might have the answer–imagine that! Instead of searching Google you can just ask someone! I’ve found coworking to be efficient and fun. Friendships and colleagues are made. Jokes are passed, bagels shared and indeed, work gets done!

Evans and Sayles are often encouraged to expand or franchise Office Nomads. “You should start one of these in Ballard!” to which they respond “We’d love to help you do that!” They are not trying to take over the world but instead they embody the very type of community they have created. That is something worth applauding.

And applause they have received:
They’ve been covered in Seattle Magazine, Seattle Business Monthly, Fortune Small Business, New York Times, King 5 News and MSNBC to name just a few. Definitely a contagious idea and Evans and Sayles have been on the leading edge of the coworking movement.

There are other coworking spaces popping up around the country and Office Nomads participates in a visa program that allows any member of those communities free access to Office Nomads when they are in town. Office Nomads lives within a larger community, where indie professionals stay connected across the nation and have access to a friendly office space when on the road.

Did office space exist before? Sure, if you wanted to pay for a room with a key in an executive suites building. But community for the self-employed who want to remain independent but not isolated is hard to come by. Sayles and Evans have hit the sweet spot between independent spirit and thriving community, the intersection of cool and friendly, and have created a place where efficiency does not equal lonely. As a long-time entrepreneur, I’d have to say that’s innovative, and in our time, I’d even call it revolutionary.

Could Your Business Be Worth More?

Karrie Kohlhaas — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 20:06:13 +0000

What is your business worth? What steps can you take to make it more valuable?

Though it’s not a perfect comparison, let’s think about valuing your business the way you might value a home. Most people scramble to make a lot of changes to their home a few months before putting it on the market, hoping that the effort they put in will make the home more valuable to a buyer. Later, they look back at their finished masterpiece, ready to sell, and say to themselves “Why didn’t we do this sooner so we could enjoy it?”

In the same way, business owners typically don’t consider the value of their business in the eyes of a buyer until they are close to selling it. And they rarely realize that making these changes sooner, rather than later, can make the business easier to manage and market and even more fun to own. Unlike a home, it can take much longer to build greater value into a business so getting an early start is a good idea.

Beyond tangible assets like equipment and real estate, there is a lot of value in a business that goes unarticulated, under-developed, or unprotected. In a workshop I am co-leading with Michelle Bomberger of Equinox Business Law next Wednesday, I’ll be talking about ways to develop and articulate aspects of your business to make your business worth more not only to a buyer should you decide to sell, but also worth more to you, the business owner for as long as you continue to own the business, with all those amazing renovations to enjoy yourself. The great thing is, the type of changes I will suggest are also the kinds of changes that will make your business appear more valuable to your customers, clients and colleagues.

Michelle will speak to the legal side of protecting the assets you currently have. For those of you who don’t have any assets in place or aren’t sure how to create assets that will make your business more valuable, we’ll explore how you can use existing or under-developed processes of your business to create intellectual property that you can own and include as assets or simply value added elements of your business.

We will touch on how you name your business and the relevance that has to your business worth and we’ll include a discussion on how you are using tools like newsletters and social media to build or damage the value of your business.

We hope you will join us as this is going to be a fun afternoon of really delving into some deep questions about your business and how to make it worth more to you and your client base as well as worth more to potential buyers.

Click here to learn more about this workshop.

Client Launch Party: Seattle Mosaic Arts

Karrie Kohlhaas — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:27:58 +0000

You’re invited to attend the launch party for ThoughtShot client Claire Barnett. Seattle Mosaic Arts in Wallingford opens this weekend and I hope you will come out to support this fun new concept. At Seattle Mosaic Arts, you can create your own mosaic piece with or without a background in art or mosaics. This very simple and gratifying process is also soothing to the soul.

Many brain studies have shown that doing simple manual tasks like puzzles and crafts are extremely calming and beneficial for the brain. Imagine an activity that allows you to stop thinking so damn much–something us entrepreneurs could use a little help with–and also yields a beautiful piece of functional art when you are done!

Claire wants to reach both the Mosaic Curious (she offers tutorials so you can learn the entire process or you can just do the “fun part” and let her do the “messy part” and pick up your piece in all it’s finished glory) and the Mosaic Seasoned (she offers studio memberships and sells glass in nearly every shade).

Claire says it’s all fun but some people don’t want to get their hands dirty so she’s come up with an easy way for even the artistically timid to get involved. “They all turn out beautifully. You just can’t mess up this process!” Something Claire has told me many times and demonstrated too. I am a believer and I’m excited about getting some friends together to spend a day in the studio.

It’s not intended to be an exclusive experience, but one that allows everyone to participate. You can do mosaics alone, with a partner, friend, family group, etc. It can be a purely fun activity or one that takes you within to experience and express your love for someone in a memorial piece. I keep thinking of ultra cool things my clients could make for their businesses: mosaic address numerals for their storefront, tabletop, vase, tea tray, flower pot for entry…What needs spicing up inside/outside your office space?

Kudos to the lovely Kelly Jean Davis of FarmGirl Works who designed the logo for Seattle Mosaic Arts. The website is in development but the splash page looks great! Another great example that sometimes you have to just move forward even if every little detail isn’t in place! The show must go on!

I’ll be there Saturday, June 6, but the Grand Opening is happening all weekend, so stop by and find Claire, cowork on a mosaic she’ll have out on the table and meet some cool new folks. See you there! (Hint: It’s next to Bizarro’s Restaurant behind 45th and near Stone Way.)

Innovative Marketing Using Social Media

Karrie Kohlhaas — Tue, 26 May 2009 07:02:18 +0000

photo courtesy of William Campos

Friend and colleague, Darcey Morgan Howard, and her husband, Kent, needed to sell their house quickly. Instead of going the usual route: hosting open houses, listing in the MLS and hoping for the best in a down market; they did something smarter…Watch this video to see their innovative marketing efforts.

The Howards made a video about their home and it’s features, and they told their own story of how they renovated it, memories in the home, what they’ve loved about it. In the video, they walk the line between marketing that is personal and authentic while keeping it accessible and not alienating anyone by being too much about themselves. What an effective use of video for marketing a house online–so effective that in 2 weeks they received over 500 interested callers (more than 4 times the typical amount) and sold the house in record time for the current market.

Making the video is one thing, but getting it out there for people to see it is another. Darcey posted this video to her network on Facebook as one way to market the video. This allowed it to be seen by hundreds and allowed those contacts to easily share the video. Too often I see people not realizing the amazing reach of social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter and not using these tools strategically; This is a refreshing exception.

Honestly, I look at this and I think “Why isn’t every realtor utilizing this technology?!” In fact, anything you have to sell–product or service–can be marketed this way. But this is still considered cutting edge for some reason. This story even made the local news in Seattle because it’s still considered such a new concept. Crazy, right? Why wouldn’t everyone go to town on this video/social media combo?

I think a lot of people get stopped by “I don’t understand how to use the technology” or “How do I upload video online?” or “What’s Twitter?” That’s why there are people out there to help you, silly! And I know a lot of them. It can be easy and it can be fast, but you might need to get some other people involved to help you out, like the Howards did. Darcey had the brilliant idea, but then she hired a videographer to execute it and post it to Vimeo (like YouTube) from where she could then post it to her Facebook page. Viola!

I hope the Howards inspire you to think of new ways you can utilize video and social media to promote what you are offering to the world. I know many excellent videographers and can hook you up with social media experts as well. So let me know if this piqued your interest so we can brainstorm some ways you can leverage current technologies for big results.

How could you show what you offer on camera instead of just writing and talking about it? Start thinking about using tools like Facebook and Twitter and Youtube to get the word out to a large audience at the click of a button. You might be surprised how easy this can be, with a little input and a little nudge.

Do it with the carrot. Not the stick.

Karrie Kohlhaas — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 07:26:16 +0000

Join Carrotmob in Seattle TODAY! Details here.

This is brilliant. I am excited to see where this Carrotmob takes us. Be part of this cultural-economic tilt-a-whirl on April 22nd when Carrotmob comes to Seattle. According to Seattle Greendrink’s Gabriel Scheer,

Seattle Greendrinks has partnered with the Pike Pub & Brewery to produce Seattle’s first Carrotmob-like event! On 22 April (Earth Day), from 4pm until close, at least 20% (since posting this has increased to 25%) of all sales at the Pike Pub will go back into the store in the form of energy retrofits and other improvements to improve the pub’s efficiency, reduce its waste, and more; in short, we’ll make it a greener pub. Come out & join us – drink & eat and help this great local business reduce their environmental footprint!

Carrotmob Makes It Rain from carrotmob on Vimeo.

Crafting the Perfect Identity (Crisis)

Karrie Kohlhaas — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:56:23 +0000

I’ve been rethinking some things about my business and identity is at the center of it. I hate to say crisis, but Erik Erikson who coined the term pretty much describes this to a tee, with a few tweaks to make it all relevant to business. A year or so ago I hired an excellent designer, Karen Chappell of Redfyve Design. She spent a lot of time getting to know my business, really listening and trying to get to the essence of who I am as a business cultivator.

After several iterations of logo concepts, we landed on the one you see now. Like a good logo or business name, it has multiple meanings and offers several ways for people to connect with it—while the image itself remains simple. It’s based on the image of a neuron firing, but not everyone sees that.

Some people see brain activity, the positive space of the image; others see breaking through and focus on the image as negative space. Some describe a sense of high impact, and still others say it represents a reaching outward and the ever expanding nature of a business or an idea. I also hear that it reminds people of pointed explosions of insight, a paint splash, a zap, and even energy pulling inward. Then there are the people who just don’t connect with it or don’t like it—or for whom it elicits a negative visceral reaction!

I always tell my clients that it’s a bad idea to ask everyone you know what they think of your logo or business name–oh but this is hard to avoid! If you give into this temptation, you will hear that some people adamantly hate it and some love it and would be disappointed if you strayed from it—no matter what the image, you will always find people in both camps. It will simply confuse you. There are better logos and better business names but none that will work for everyone. So there is an element of letting go and knowing that it won’t speak to everyone and it won’t say everything, and that’s hard for some of us, myself included!

As an anthropologist, I look for meaning in everything. As a consultant this can be very helpful as I unpack the layers of meaning and cultural connotations that clients often cannot see. But for myself, this can be a bit debilitating! It’s been so hard to really commit to one design because there are other aspects to what I do and who I am for my clients that were so well represented in the other image Karen worked up—a completely different feel, much more grounded, calming, balanced and sophisticated.

I know this type of identity crisis well through the eyes of the consultant. I have helped so many people hone in on the essence of their business and then work with them to name the business, craft a tagline, develop a concept to take to a designer. The message/image/name should resonate with their target market but I also want it to resonate with them. When you really get engaged in the process, a logo can become highly personal and it can drive you a little nuts to make the final call.

Recently I spoke with Matt Krzycki, video producer and owner of Goodside Studio, about this very issue. Matt has been a client and over time we’ve become colleagues and friends. As someone who helps his clients craft a message and identity for video, he had some great input about logos…

“Sometimes logos become physical manifestations of how we see ourselves. The challenging thing is that we are multifaceted, ever changing and situational, but logos can’t be, so it locks us up. They’re expected to represent everything we are, but they can’t.”

Perfectly said. With video you can show more of yourself, but with a static logo, you have to wrap it all up in a few lines, some color and a font, and bam, that’s who you are saying you are. For anyone who takes this process on as a serious exploration of their business and not just a superficial necessity, it can be a very difficult process. If you are going through this, I feel your pain.

“Networking that Doesn’t Suck”

Karrie Kohlhaas — Mon, 14 May 2007 21:57:07 +0000

A little in your face, yes, but that’s the tagline for a networking group I joined late last year. It’s called “biznik” and if you are looking for networking events where people actually want to know who you are, not just whether you are a good client for them, biznik is a great alternative to the networking groups that are speaking to fewer and fewer people these days.

Honestly, I have never joined a networking group before. But from what I have heard from clients and colleagues, most of them are run from a very corporate mentality and seem out of touch with today’s small business owners.

I’ve been not only impressed, but moved by the founders of biznik. Lara Feltin and Dan McComb, both small business owners themselves, resolved to start biznik after being involved with Burning Man, an 8-day festival of creativity that occurs once a year in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. Their aim was to create an authentic community for independent business owners and now the group has gone international with over 3,000 members in just over a year. They are very involved and attend events weekly. They’ve proven time and again to me that they truly care and have started biznik for the right reasons. They also know, first hand, the pains and pitfalls of running their own businesses and have done everything they could think of to set up biznik as a community that truly empowers, emboldens and strengthens indie businesses and their connections to one another.

If you are looking for a place to connect with other business owners, find support, friendship, resources, workshops, events and to build your business, biznik is an excellent group to join. Unlike those out-of-date networking groups, biznik is easy and free to join and you don’t have to commit to over-priced 6am bagel breakfasts. (Don’t those other groups know that we are self employed so we can start our day a little later?)

Check out biznik by clicking on the biznik icon on the right sidbar of this page.

Up the Ante on Boldness

Karrie Kohlhaas — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:25:13 +0000

Kurt Vonnegut died lastnight. He was a great example of someone doing his own thing and being successful with all of his quirks and eccentricities. Vonnegut found a style he could own because it was genuine and a true reflection of his personality.

If you do your thing like everyone else does it, you’ll simply blend in and people will forget about you. But when you really stick your neck out and be so fully yourself that it scares some people, offends others, it will attract the people who will resonate with the real you and in turn, the authentic personality of your business–not the one you “create” but the one you integrate.

I have to say I have a soft spot for Vonnegut since he studied anthropology at my alma mater, University of Chicago. They rejected his thesis. U of C later gave him an honorary degree. Had Vonnegut contorted his message to please his professors, maybe we would have missed out on the voice he was developing.

So what voice are you developing? What you perpetuate you will become fluent in, known for and people will expect more of it. Are you developing your business personality, your marketing, and client/customer relationships from a genuine place?

In honor of Kurt Vonnegut: go ahead, step out there boldly and let us see what you’ve really got. I’ll do the same. It’s time to up the ante on boldness. I can feel where I’ve been holding back too. Imagine if we were all living our bold selves, manifesting our authentic businesses? I think that would be the kind of world Vonnegut and many others could smile down on.

Scared of your Customers?

Karrie Kohlhaas — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 21:57:27 +0000

Dear Cell Phone User

Many business owners are afraid of offending their cell phone-wielding customers by posting a “no cell phone policy” in their place of business. They don’t consider that these customers are actually hurting—not helping—business.

Customers who will slow your checkout line, damage company moral by treating your employees badly and annoy your other customers—even sending them away in some cases—are not your most valuable asset! When I see a “no cell phone” policy on display, I compliment management for taking this action to create a better atmosphere for everyone; An atmosphere that promotes not only a better business experience, but also promotes awareness of others.

My consulting agreement clearly states that I expect clients to turn off cell phones or pagers during client sessions. In fact, this serves my clients best: If the cell phone rings, it intrudes and breaks our train of thought. Even if clients do not answer the call, they still wonder who it was when it rings and their mind travels to family, worry, logistics…and away from the work they sat down to accomplish. Since implementing my own cell phone policy, clients have thanked me for setting that guide for them and modeling behavior they can adopt in their own businesses.

Where are you afraid to draw lines with your customers or clients? What policy would you like to instate but stop short because you don’t want to offend anyone?