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!

In the past few weeks my company has taken two fairly large orders for our merchandise totally approximately $40,000. Although these orders are great for us, they have brought big headaches to Sand Shack.

After getting over my excitement of making some fantastic sales, I quickly realized the apparent difficulties with handling large orders for a small business.  One reason these orders have been troublesome is that these accounts don’t pay until 30 days after delivery (net30).  Large orders take a week to prepare and a few days to be delivered to the customer. Therefore, it may take up to 6 weeks from the time I take an order to the time I get paid.

Another reason that large orders deliver big headaches is that occasionally I have to invest a sizable amount of money in order to make the product that I sold.  For one of these orders I did not have the product on hand, and therefore, needed to make it. This required a sizable investment in product that I will have to wait 6 weeks to be paid for. Luckily, I had the needed inventory on hand for the other large order.

In essence, these large orders have drained me of cash.  I run a high expense business and having to wait so long for such large payments spells big trouble.  I personally have not paid myself for the past month, and some larger bill payments have also needed to be delayed.

These large orders would be ok if I had a line of credit or a lot of cash on hand, but this economy has allowed neither.  The good news is that these large orders will allow me to show a bank a solid source of revenue for my business and a decent profit for a turbulent 2009.  These two things will hopefully allow me to secure a sizable line of credit in 2010, which will help alleviate some of the problems that come with large orders in the future.

Photo by Kazeeee