Biznik Blog

A pair of indispensable linchpins

Lara Feltin — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:40:22 +0000

The highly anticipated new book by Seth Godin, Linchpin: Are you Indispensable? arrived in the mail yesterday. I opened the package at the kitchen counter and while Dan fixed dinner, I unfolded the dust jacket and scanned the faces of the “linchpins” pictured inside – people who MATTER. Do they resemble people I know? Could I pick anyone out from the photos? Yes and yes.

They look a lot like people I know – Bizniks! And how fun to pick out not one, but two familiar faces from amongst our ranks.

Ken Mahar, of Seattle, the founder of emailbroadcast.com matters. So does Danielle LaPorte of Vancouver, BC, founder of White Hot Truth.

From Seth:

If you didn’t get your picture in on time, you can post it, along with a description, links, guest books and more at whoisthelinchpin.com. Even better, post someone else. It’s a nice thing to do for someone who matters to you.

Celebrate the linchpins. We need more of them.

62 Biznik Experts published articles in 2009

Lara Feltin — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:21:31 +0000

The Biznik Way of networking focuses more attention on contributing value to the community, than shamelessly promoting your talents. But when you publish an article, you get to do both. Over 1580 members have shown-off their expertise, increased their visibility on Biznik, gained valuable “Google-juice” and contributed something of value to others, when they published an article on Biznik.

The first member to earn Expert status was Chris Haddad. One hundred-nine members have earned the Expert badge since. How do you become an Expert? Simple: Write at least 4 articles, selected for publication in the Biznik Articles section, which the community rates 8 or above. Of course, getting and maintaining that high of ratings is easier than it looks.

Experts who published an article in 2009 are listed below, with the number of articles the community rated 8 or above:

Rev. Elke Siller Macartney

Angela Ferraro-Fanning

Going it the Biznik Way

Lara Feltin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 19:14:08 +0000

The Biznik Manifesto, originally authored by Chris Haddad in 2005, has been dug up, dusted off, and with a few minor tweaks – republished. Check it out in the rotating banners on the homepage and join us in this indie business revolution.

We Believe in Collaboration, Not Competition.
Competition is an old myth made up by old men with old ideas and no imagination. There’s work out there–big gobs of it–plenty to make all of us fat and happy and (if we eat too much) probably a little tired. Bizniks work together. Bizniks form groups. Bizniks will stage a completely collaborative coup of the greater business world.

We Believe in People Not Professions.
We don’t care what you do, we care who you are and how you do it. We’ve always got room for another writer, another programmer, another massage therapist, another marketing wonk, another DJ, another coach, another songstress and another unidentifiable ball of potential just waiting for the chance to take the business world by storm. We’ll never turn anyone away because “we’ve already filled your spot.” If you’ve got the passion and the drive, we want you.

We Believe in Community.
Business is a social game. Let’s play together. Biznik isn’t something you go to, show up for, log into or whisper about. Biznik is something you are. Becoming a Biznik is just like joining a family. But without the death benefits, crying bouts and awkward family dinners.

We Believe in Events, Not Updates.
Whether you’re in Seattle or Swaziland, we’re all Bizniks and part of the same big tribe. Biznik doesn’t have chapters and we’re not another place to post your updates. Face-to-face events are the lifeblood of this crazy body and the more of them you go to (or better yet, create and host) the more you’ll get out of being here.

We Believe in Technology.
Yes, we’ve seen Terminator. Yes, we know that artificial intelligence is going to enslave all of mankind and thrust our planet into a dark age of warfare. But we still love technology and think that cool tools combined with in-person meetings are the best way to network for your business. If you aren’t tech savvy, don’t worry, we’ll teach you. But you have to be willing to learn.

We Believe in Free.
We believe that high monthly dues, long term contracts and fine are bull$#!t. (We also believe in swearing to make a point.) Biznik is free. Being a Biznik will always be free. We also hate banner ads, so do we ask you for money? We do. But it’s not that much and paying gets you some really cool bonuses. Biznik needs to make cash in order to survive, but we’ll never treat our members like cash machines.

We Believe that Money is a Good Thing.
Say it with us. Take a deep breath. We know it’s hard. “Money is a good thing.” Money in the right hands is powerful, contagious and cool. We want to make money. We want you to make money. If we all make more money, we’ll be able to do powerful, contagious and cool things together.

We Believe in Relationships, not Referrals.
We don’t care if you never refer to another Biznik. Do we hope you will? Sure. But we’ll take a hard-working, passionate professional over a hackneyed-unethical-referral-throwing-ladder-climber any day. Be a Biznik. Build relationships. And if you’ve got business to give… give it.

We Believe in Participation.
Being a Biznik means showing up and pitching in. You can’t buy your way to Biznik supremacy (well, maybe half-way there), but you can contribute your way there. Show up. Teach a workshop. Publish an article. Start a conversation. Take us all to Disneyland (OK, not that last one. Unless you really want to.)

We Believe in Giving To, Not Selling To.
And in self-interested altruism. Give to the group without expecting a return. Karma will come and get you. Karma will hunt you down.

We Believe in Being Progressive.
And that you’re smart enough to define what that means for yourself. Bizniks work toward positive change. This isn’t politics, it’s attitude. We’re trying to make the world a better place. You are too.

We believe that building a business is hard, lonely work.
And that spending time with some like-minded peers who “get you can make it a little easier, a lot less lonely, and way more fun.

If you believe in these things too, then come join us. If not, well, why are you still here? There’s always something good on TV.

Top event hosts of 2009

Lara Feltin — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:49:23 +0000

This post is a second in a series showcasing the Biznik rockstars of 2009.

The Biznik Way is not about updates and an online network – it’s about meeting others face-to-face. Don’t get me wrong. We love technology and built a custom social network. But events are the lifeblood of Biznik. This is a place to build relationships, not collect connections. You do that by having in-person conversations.

Best selling author, Daniel Pink recently remarked at the last Biznik Innovators event on January 12, that one of the main challenges micropreneurs must overcome is isolation. Employees who work in a communal office benefit from “inadvertent contact” with their coworkers. Chats in the coffee room lead to inspiration, new ideas and shared resources. He pointed to Biznik events as a great place for isolated micropreneurs to get that inadvertent contact with others like them. When you talk with someone who’s not in your industry, you can get a fresh perspective on the projects you’re working on.

Biznik events are created, produced and hosted by members. Event hosts provide you with opportunities to meet others. I’d like to acknowledge the extraordinary contributions of some special Biznik members who contributed to the 1538 Biznik Events in 2009. These are the members who, more than anyone else, do the heavy lifting of community building by bringing business people together face to face, where profitable connections really happen.

The top ten event hosts (with the number of events they hosted in 2009 are…

HOST AN EVENT IN 2010

It’s easy to host an event, (it’s even easier when you grab a friend and you host one together!) Popular first-time events have included social meet’n'greets at a local pub, walk-n-talk casual networking without an agenda, or a gathering of folks at a coffee shop who have all read the same great marketing book like Dan Pink’s, Drive. Review this page for some helpful tips or drop a line to info@biznik.com.

The well respected and the highly connected: Biznik’s top connectors for 2009

Lara Feltin — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:42:26 +0000

The next five blog posts are part of a series showcasing the Biznik rockstars of 2009.

First up, Biznik Connectors. We define a “connector” as someone who has not only used the invite tool (or personal invite link) to invite people to Biznik, but at least 10 of the people they’ve invited have responded and created a profile. The fact that their invitees are actually signing up tells us that, more than the average member, these members are well respected and highly connected. We love connectors!

Here’s the top connectors for 2009 (the number listed to the left of their name is the number of members they’ve brought into Biznik in 2009 through the invite page or invite link – the only way we have to track this data). These members are well connected. If you haven’t met them yet, you should!

BECOME A BIZNIK CONNECTOR IN 2010

Inviting others to Biznik is easy. In the top right corner of every page, you’ll find a link for ‘Invite’. You must use this form (or the personalized invite link) if you want to receive credit for an invitation. The recipient does not have to follow the link in the message. So long as they join using the same email address you sent an invitation to, you will get credit for their membership.

The invite page provides a form where you can either enter the name/email of someone new to Biznik, or a personalized link that you can copy and paste into your own email message. You can also import the contact information from one of the 100 online address books and contact lists you may already use.

Biznik’s new ticker tape

Lara Feltin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:56:04 +0000

Beverly Wertman joined Biznik earlier this month and posted to Biz Talk:

“I think if Biznik had a moving banner or box (visable from all areas) that showed the topics of “active” topics (ones recently answered or posted) people would think to click in here. Perhaps one for article titles also. I think seeing something changing and updated would remind myself and others to click into these locations and increase traffic and visabliity of topics and articles.”

We agreed. The site is active but it was feeling a little dead because that activity could only be seen if you clicked down into it and refreshed your page. On Friday Andrew and I started hashing out ways we could display recent activity in the site header, he completed the last details on it this weekend and today it’s live. The activity of all membership levels are displayed and include: …newly published Biznik events, new Biznik event RSVPs, newly published articles, new comments following an article and in Biz Talk, and new member compliments. Soon we’ll add newly acquired roles, i.e. Biznik Connector and Biznik Expert.

Thanks for the great tip, Beverly!

Do you buy it?

Lara Feltin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:03:08 +0000

This week President Obama spoke about small business in his State of the Union address:

“We should start where most new jobs do – with small businesses – companies that begin when an entrepreneur takes a chance on a dream, or a worker decides to become her own boss. Through sheer grit and determination, these companies have weathered the recession and they’re ready to grow. But … financing remains difficult for small businesses across the country. Even those that are making a profit. So tonight I propose that we take 30 billion … and use it to help community banks give small businesses the credit they need to stay afloat.”

Do you buy it? Obama wasn’t referring to the entrepreneur working alone for the first year, or the newly self-employed worker running a one-man shop from her kitchen table. When “small business” is commonly defined as ten employees or less and under a million in annual revenue, companies of one, earning less than $100,000 a year, are often overlooked. Yet 70% of the nation’s businesses are what the U.S. Census Bureau classifies as “personal businesses” [1] – companies of one without a payroll. These businesses cannot get a business credit card without backing the loan with their personal social security number. (The credit card may have the name of your business on it, but it’s still personal borrowing to fund your business.) Do you have confidence that banks, even small community banks, will use Obama’s $30B to issue your business a line a credit it needs to grow?

I couldn’t help juxtapose this with another game-shifting statement, made on the same day by another one of our leading cultural creatives. Contained in his announcement of Apple’s “revolutionary new device,” iPad, Steve Jobs said, “It’s like holding the internet in your hand.”

Do you buy it? Sure, the iPad’s cool. It’s like a jumbo iPhone, an extraordinary evolutionary device for accessing micro publishing. But to be truly revolutionary it should provide a way for the micro business person to create and make money from their micro publishing.

I’m a huge Obama fan and a huge Apple fan and this week I was disappointed. Twice.

Does it ever feel like, as one of the smallest of small businesses, the company of one, the microprenur, the free agent… you’re being overlooked?

To be truly revolutionary, people focused on “small business” need to pay more attention the needs of the solo entrepreneur, and the self-employed working alone – businesses that rely on hiring fellow solo contractors – businesses that fill the pages of Biznik.

[1] From Intuit’s Future of Small Business Report a research project conducted in partnership with the Institute for the Future, published January 2007.

Group improvement: disable tabs for Group Events & Group Articles

Lara Feltin — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:41:45 +0000

Biznik groups are as diverse as the members who create them. Some groups were formed around a professional affinity like the Creative Professionals group. The Edmonds/Lynnwood group is populated by those north of Seattle.

Dominic Canterbury’s Barter Club has a call to action; those who like to network while walking together participate in the Walk & Talk Events group.

There are small groups and big groups – the popular Power Chicks group is approaching 1,000 members.

Not all groups meet face-to-face; and not all groups publish content.

Last week, we made it possible for the Group Admin to turn off the Events or Articles tabs. Hiding the tab also prohibits members of the group from posting an event or article to the group.

To make this change for a group you Admin, go to your Group Setting page under the group’s ‘Admin’ tab and look for ‘Group Tab Settings’ to edit the display on your group.