2010 has been a turbulent, yet exciting, time for me and my company.  We moved into a new office in January, stopped selling Sand Shack brand jewelry to 80% of our retail accounts, and launched a new brand, UBB.

Last year around this time I felt like my business was stalled, but not so much in growth, rather in passion and love for what I was doing.  I was making some money and slowly growing the company and distribution of our products, however, I wasn’t happy with the product or what we were accomplishing as a company.  I viewed my brand, Sand Shack, much like a commodity.  It was difficult to brand, there was nothing too unique about it, and a comparable style from a lower priced competitor would regularly beat us out or drive our prices even lower.  I got to the point where I would see an elderly flea market vendor selling jewelry and think that was the path I was doomed to follow if I didn’t radically change my business.

The Launch of UBB Restored Balance and Passion

Also around this time last year, United By Blue was in the planning stages, but by no means something that was definitely going to launch.  In UBB I was searching for meaning, for a way to enjoy work again, and to make something I would love.  I wanted to create something that would not only impact my life, but also impact the environment in positive ways.  Luckily, UBB did launch in May of this year, and since then, I have not looked back.

As a result of launching UBB I have had the privilege to work with some great new people in a much improved office, travel the east coast cleaning up needy beaches and waterways, been featured on a handful of small and large press outlets, and established relationships with buyers from large retailers that could materialize into some great sales in 2011.  These are things I wasn’t getting from my other brand.

UBB’s Early Months Have Been a Successful “Proof of Concept” Stage

UBB revenues have not been where I wanted (or expected) them to be at this point, but I have realized that the most important thing we accomplished with UBB this year is we have proved the concept UBB is built around as a viable way to build a brand while accomplishing the most good possible for the environment (For every 1 product sold, UBB removes 1 pound of trash from our world’s oceans and waterways).  As a result of our mission, it has been very easy for skeptics to come up with objections or doubts about what we are doing.  Now we can point out what we have accomplished over the last 6 months as an example of how UBB has a real and viable business model.   Our YouTube channel, where we have copious amounts of videos explaining our business model and detailing our cleanup efforts, is one of the most powerful tools that has come about from this proof of concept stage.

Pareto’s Principle Results in Sand Shack Revenues Up 200%

But my love for UBB has also renewed my interest in Sand Shack. I realized that some of the ways I was running Sand Shack were not sustainable, both for my wellbeing, for the companies wellbeing, and for the planets wellbeing.  After reviewing everything closely, it was apparent to me I was spending a tremendous amount of time with wholesale customers who cost me more than they were making me.  Therefore, I applied the 80-20 rule (Pareto’s Principle) to my business, eliminating 80% of my customers to focus on the top 20%, and low and behold, revenues have soared. This has been one of the most fascinating things about Sand Shack this year, because with the launch of UBB, Sand Shack gets a fraction of the attention it used to get, and has far fewer customers, but it is actually making much more money than it did in 2009. Go figure.

Most importantly, Sand Shack brand revenues were able to fund UBB during these past 6 months, so despite my previous negativity towards the brand, I am thankful for Sand Shack and plan to continue to grow and develop it.

Summary of Most Important Accomplishments in 2010

Some of my more important accomplishments of the year are as follows:

• Launched UBB
• Hosted 25 cleanups across 10 US states and removed 12,000 pounds of trash
• Moved into new office: (learned a lot about everything from setting up shelving, painting walls, IT, and foosball).
• Refocused Sand Shack and increased sales by over 200% despite reducing distribution by 80% (not number of stores, but number of companies).
• Began to build a team of talented, passionate individuals
• Expanded my network of buyers and understanding of the retail industry
• Learned how to play, and dominate, foosball

It is hard to believe that UBB has only been around since May. It already feels like an integral part of my business and life.  But unlike before, these feelings are not fleeting or residing in an empty void, they are real, lasting.   And I know every entrepreneur is overly optimistic, and I am no exception, but over the last 6 months I have transformed my business into an organization I am extremely proud of and believe is poised for tremendous growth in the coming years.

And with that, I will wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Drop me a line at brian [at] sandshack [dot] com if you’d like to connect further.

Thank you to everyone who came hear me at the most recent trade shows in Orlando and Philadelphia. The below links bring you to the slide shows that were used at these shows.  Feel free to use them as you wish and reach out to me with any questions.

Blogging Trade Show Seminar Slide Show

Facebook Trade Show Seminar Slide Show

Over the last 50 years businesses around the world have played the key role in the destruction of our environment and depletion of our natural resources.  The BP oil spill is only one of the many environmental catastrophes bad business is responsible for in recent history.

Looking at the destructive powers of business it is obvious business is powerful.  In fact, I think business is more powerful than government in many ways.  Businesses are quicker, nimbler, more effective and focused in everything they do.  Businesses hold power that no other organization can.

Despite businesses overwhelming capacity for destruction, business can and should be good.  The power of business is immense, and if used for good, business can solve many of our world’s problems.

I see fellow entrepreneurs in my generation and myself as a new breed of entrepreneur.

We all want to make money. We all want to live a good life. We all want security. We all want some kind of power of influence.

In this respect, we want the same things that all generations of entrepreneurs before us have wanted.  But we want something that no other generation has craved to the extent that we do.  We want to do good.

I believe all people are innately good, so why has it taken so long for responsible, sustainable, and good business practices to take root and flourish?  Because we realize we can’t wait any longer, because the bad effects of being bad have never been so obvious, and because technology and the Internet has made us all so much damn smarter.

Businesses can and should be good.  The power is there, it just needs to be used for the right thing.

I just came across a neat video that goes against the standard notion of behavioral psychology. You would think that bonuses and rewards lead to better performance, but countless studies in recent years have shown that larger bonuses result in lower levels of performance and worse results.

What gives?

People are not motivated like we think they are. Many times, people do things because there are other factors other than money involved. Why do we practice an instrument, or why do we have hobbies? We don’t make money off our hobbies, but what we do get is a sense of mastery and autonomy. We feel like we are in control of our lives.

Maybe this is why I am an entrepreneur. I am in complete control of my company (unfortunately it never seems like I am in complete control of my life though). Although I am motivated by financial reward in building my business, it is by no means a priority of mine. Maybe that’s why I only have a $24,000 salary – the lowest in the company! Interns even make more money than I do. But what I have is autonomy. I have the desire to create something of purpose and meaning.

Understanding what motivates people is a great way to understand how to manage people. As Sand Shack grows and expands we are hiring more people. As we do so, I look to create a company that motivates people in the most creative and unique ways possible without compromising company performance. One of the things that I have implemented is a “vacation when you need it” policy. I believe that people who work for you should want to work for you, and they should enjoy their job. If they need vacation, they need vacation. But by not setting limitations on a persons freedom a person has a greater degree of autonomy, which leads to a greater degree of motivation, which leads to greater levels of performance.

Cool huh?

I started Sand Shack 4 years ago as a brand of jewelry with a mission to support ocean conservation.  Now Sand Shack products can be found in over 300 stores across the United States, and over the past few years we have been dedicated to conservation activities including beach cleanups, educational events, and social media campaigns intent on raising awareness for certain topics such as Shark Finning, Overfishing, and Coral Reef Destruction.

However, during our time growing Sand Shack we realized we wanted to do even more for our oceans, so we decided to create a new brand that allows us to do just that.   So for the past year we have been developing the products and concept for a new brand called United By Blue (UBB).

UBB is a brand of sustainable clothing and accessories that removes 1 pound of trash from our oceans and beaches for every 1 product sold through beach cleanups we organize throughout the world.

This is a lofty goal, but something we really believe in. Our oceans are beyond dirty and we believe business has the power to clean them up.  We are accomplishing this goal by creating an in-house outreach team that is constantly helping organize these cleanups on an ongoing basis. In fact, even though the brand does not officially launch until May 1, we have cleanups being conducted next week by Stanford University in CA, Florida State in FL, and University of Pennsylvania, Villanova, Drexel, and Temple University in PA.  Furthermore, we are developing an innovative beach cleanup map application for our website that facilitates the creation and organization of these cleanups.

UBB will operate two websites.  One website is the UBB store, and the other website is the website for the non-profit arm of the company and where all information about past, present and future cleanups will be.  In order to be completely transparent with our mission and what we are accomplishing, a real time “trash ticker” will be visible on each site to show how many pounds of trash UBB has helped remove to-date.

Below is a screen shot of the website for the non-profit side of UBB’s operations

Starting May 1st, select stores across the east coast will be carrying UBB products.  The main place UBB products will be available for the first few months will be online at Unitedbyblue.com.  This website is currently in final stages of development (temporary site currently up) and will be live on launch day.

Below is a screen shot of Unitedbyblue.com

If you have a sec, let me know your thoughts about UBB in the comment section below.

We moved into our new offices in Philadelphia in January and I thought it would be nice to share a video of what the inside looks like!

Below is a video that takes you through our office.  If you are ever in Philadelphia, I would be more than happy to have you come by and visit in person!

Over the last few months I have got to go to some really neat places across the country and conduct seminars at Gift Shows (trade shows for the gift, resort, and souvenir industries). I’ve had so much fun and am humbled and honored by the opportunity to be in front of so many people from my industry listening to what I have to say.  I am by no means a social media expert, but the independent retail industry is behind the 8-ball when it comes to using social media, so I have lent my experience and passion for teaching to help people get more competitive on and offline….and the pay doesn’t hurt either!

After technical and sound problems with the video recorded at the gift show seminars I have gone ahead and sat down at my computer and recorded the audio for the Intro to Social Media Seminar. Below are the slideshows from both of the seminars I have conducted. For the Intro seminar, if you click play, my voice will take you through the entire seminar.

There is currently no audio for the Advanced slideshow.

Please contact me with any questions or concerns. brian [at] sandshack.com

American business has been greenwashed. Every business that strives to reach the masses has come up with or attributed their brand to some form of environmental mission.  Many companies simply support environmental works because they believe they will be more appealing to their customers.  Although this could be viewed negatively, I think it is great.  Even if the management of the company doesn’t care, let them throw money at various conservation works…as long as something gets done.

But I believe the greenwashing of American business has inadvertently affected those businesses that truly strive to make a positive impact on the environment.  As a result of so many businesses making some form of environmental pledge, the consumer is less likely to praise any small environmental impact a company is making.  Unfortunately small businesses that are “just” environmentally friendly will no longer stand out in 2010 as they may have in years past.

So what can and should a small business that wants to have a positive impact on the environment and stand out from the crowd do?

I believe the answer is to become more specific with environmental missions. For instance, instead of having a blanket statement that a certain percentage is being donated towards saving the rainforests a company will need to donate money towards saving gorilla babies who have been orphaned due to poaching.  The reason for this is that people are more likely to take note of a business that is accomplishing a concrete goal than a company who has a vague and somewhat confusing, albeit good, environmental mission.

The concept of having a concrete and SPECIFIC mission can be applied to other forms of socially responsible businesses as well.

One company that does not necessarily have an environmental mission has been incredibly successful with a concrete socially responsible mission of donating one pair of shoes to a child in need for every one pair they sell.  As many of us know from a popular AT&T commercial last year, this company is TOMS Shoes.  TOMS has a nice product, but without their concrete and impressive mission, it is not anything very special.  Competing in the highly competitive footwear market and growing as fast as they have is a direct result of the press and publicity they have achieved from their mission, not their products.  If TOMS had a similar mission and took the same amount of money they put in to giving one pair of shoes away for every one they sell and gave it to children in need through lump sum monetary donations, their mission would not be nearly as visible or impressive sounding as it is.  In fact, they may spend far less on giving children shoes than another company that helps children in need…but they must not be very successful, as I haven’t heard of them.

The association between the sale of a product and accomplishing a concrete social or environmental action, rather than a vague monetary donation, is very influential to consumers deciding whether or not to buy a product.

Having a concrete environmental or social mission can be cheap, and a concrete mission will deliver a far greater return on investment than a non-concrete mission that costs the same amount of money.

What do you think? Do you agree with this?  Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments section.

I’m selling more flip-flops this fall than I did this summer.

This may seem strange, but it is simple.  I had a fairly large surplus of flip-flops in stock at the end of the summer selling season and had to face a difficult decision.  Either I hold onto my inventory of flip-flops and begin delivering them to stores next spring, or sell them at a steep discount now contingent upon a business taking delivery and paying for them right away.

I have decided to sell them now rather than hold onto them. Have I made the right decision? Lets explore both sides.

Yes – Sell the Inventory Now!
As far as cash flow goes, the answer is a no brainer.  It is better to sell them now at a steep discount (still making some money) than it is to hold onto them for 6 months and sell them at full price.  Inventory is death.  Holding onto any quantity of product for 6 months means that all the money invested in that product has no way of making me more money.  Money needs to be continuously moving in and out of a company in order to make money.  Without that money moving, I don’t make more money on that money for 6 months.  So, if I sell it now at a steep discount, I can use that money to make new money – and 6 months from now I will have probably made more money off of that money than if I had waited to sell the flip-flops at full price.

No – Don’t Sell Now!
Although selling inventory at discount has obvious cash flow benefits, it may not be the smartest decision for the health and longevity of the brand.  When I sell my products at a discount, the stores who buy it will sell it for a discount.  These discounted prices may be interpreted in a variety of different ways – and how people perceive your brand depends on where the discounted products are sold and how it is merchandised. Unloading excessive amounts of discounted merchandise may undermine your relationships with your customers who purchase your product at full price – meaning they won’t buy your product at full price, or at all, next year.  I have strategically unloaded my inventory in a manner I believe will not harm my brand. Furthermore, the products I am selling will not be available for purchase next spring, when the discounted products will be on sold.  But only time will tell if this was the right decision.

Recently, many brands have reluctantly discounted their merchandise.  Those that have not discounted their merchandise during the recession risk losing fans to brands that offer discounts – and when the economy improves, they may not be able to get their fans back.

What are your thoughts on discounted merchandise? Am I a making the right move?

After spending a few hours this weekend adding a header to Brianlinton.com I updated the about page with more personal information about my personal life and how I came to be who I am today.

It is a slightly long About Page now, but it will hopefully allow readers to approach my articles knowing more about me and my background.

If you have a few minutes, take a look!