See the whole list!

1. LG Blue-ray player – It also connects to the internet for Netflix streaming and YouTube viewing.

2. Mouse Cushion – This was so popular last year that we added it again this year. It is a great product for the cubicle warrior!

3. Nike Fit iPod Accessory – Most of us already own ipods/iphones, and this has to be the #1 accessory. Note: you don’t need special Nike shoes for this to work. You can just attach it to shoe laces on any shoe.

4. Logitech Harmony Universal Remote – Because we need to de-clutter and simplify.

5. Garmin GPS With Traffic Info – GPS units are cool, but they become an everyday need if they can help you avoid traffic!

6. Big Buck Hunter Home Game – This is just plain fun, and you don’t need a console. Just plug it in to your TV.

7. Timbuk2 Laptop Bag – These are the best! And now it looks a little more “business like” with its handle.

8. Moleskine Notebook – A good, high-quality notebook still has a place in this digital world.

9. Sony Digital Camera – This is a versatile little pocket camera at a great price. I own this camera and love it.

10. Sigg Water Bottle – Be eco-friendly with your water drinking.

11. Clothing Steamer – Never iron again!

That concludes our list. What’s on yours?

1. Decide whether you want it to be a surprise or you want to go shop with her.  Being old fashioned, I wanted to surprise her and pick it out myself.  However, it is very easy to just go shopping with her to make sure she gets exactly what she wants (and you won’t need most of the rest of these tips).

2. Do some reconnaissance work with her friends and siblings.  As awkward as it is, go ask what her friends/siblings know about her taste in rings.  Would she like white gold/yellow?  Smaller diamonds or a bigger solitaire? Thick band or thin?  Keep in mind though, the more people you ask  and the earlier you ask them the more likely they are to accidentally tell her something.  Loose lips sink ships/give away plans as they say.  Also, if you are lucky enough to have a female sibling that can definitely help, I had two great advisors and hand models in my sisters.

3. Compare apples to apples (as often as possible).  I am not going to go into the 4 Cs spiel because you’ll hear it a million times but, do your best when shopping to get prices on a number of permutations of the 4 Cs (ie bigger but lower clarity vs smaller with higher clarity, good vs ok cut, etc) and then check those specifically rated diamonds across a few stores and online.  Keep in mind the gemologist that rated the diamonds as well, some are more lenient (ie give higher ratings) then others.

Beware: Online diamond searches often start with lower quality and lower prices until you filter them, this can make you think they have much better deals then other stores you visit.  Make sure you filter the diamond stores to a specific color/cut/clarity/carat for price comparison. When I used this method I found they were somewhat comparable to many brick and mortar stores.

4. Don’t pay too much for specially cut diamonds.  Every major diamond store has their “special” type of diamond (”Hearts Desire”, “Peerless”, “The Leo Diamond”, etc) with more cuts, more “fire”, more sparkle, etc.  You may like them better and if you think they look better and you can get them at a good price go for it!  However, keep in mind that this is the way diamond stores try to differentiate themselves and remove the view that their diamonds are a commodity that can be easily compared to others.  They do this to try to increase margin and decrease your “Apples to Apples” comparison ability.

5. Throw the rules out the window, base your decision on her taste and your budget.  The 3 months salary rule was established by the diamond industry, only you know what you can afford.  Don’t let a salesperson up sell you into something that will put you under so much financial strain that you won’t be able to enjoy your engagement.  Ultimately it comes down to you and your fiancée to be, if you are happy and she is happy you’re set.

Bonus: Check out Brandon A’s post “Engagement Ring: Consideration or Gift?” on the tax and legal implications of engagement rings.

Have you gone through this process as a young professional?  Or are you a woman with tips to share?  Please drop us a comment!

6. Be flexible on your vision, hold to your mission

Any project is a journey, and Drink Specials was no exception. I origninally pictured only a map-based navigation of a static list of bars and specials sent on iPhone. Not exciting, not novel, but certainly something. When I began development (before the iPhone 3.0 release) on the first project that eventually turned into the Drink Specials App, you couldn’t use maps the way you can today because the SDK wasn’t available for maps. So it was back to the drawing board, or in my case notebook and PowerPoint slides to try and think of new ways to present the information.

It was when I kept thinking through those problems of how I can get to that end state, that I got the idea for the “Verify” button, that let’s users let others know that a special is accurate. Same with the “Strike” concept, that if 3 users say a special is wrong, it can be removed. This changed the concept. This turned a static list into a platform. This made the specials live and change. This made the concept something to chase.

7. Input’s important, but it’s not gospel

Through the many, many revisions I have gone through of designs for the application, graphics, business models, and application features, I received tons of feedback from family, friends and vendors on how the app should work, look and feel. Many of those features ended up in v1.0 which is available now, and many more will be in new versions which are under development. But I was flush with ideas, and didn’t always have the time to deal with them.

I started a list. Anything people told me went on the list. Good, bad or ugly, it got put on the list. I kept a running note on my iPhone of anything that came to mind. It’s a long, long list with some immediate updates, and some longer term changes. The thing to remember is that it’s your concept, not a critic’s. Be respectful of others ideas, but stick to your guns. Test your ideas but be flexible. This process has gotten me to where I am today with Drink Specials, but still, there is a lot to improve, much of which has been brought to me through new sets of eyes on the same problems I see everyday.

8. Know your customer…and it’s not always the user

I always admired great apps that make their developer millions and let them quit their jobs and just think app all day. Yeah, that’s not most people. 75,000 apps in the App Store, and only a few examples of run away hits, many of whom began with the introduction of iPhone and the SDK when there were very fews apps out there at all. Cutting through the noise, and the speed of success change with competition.

In my case, I quickly realized my customers were the application user (the Drink Specials app is available worldwide, but is $1.99 in the US App Store) but also the bar owners. I think the application will save the users more than the price of the app, but many users just don’t buy many apps. But dedicated users, who are going to try and find bars to be customers at mean that bars and restaurants now become customers too.

We made offerings for bars that we felt were novel. Bars can lock their specials from editing by users, and ensure 100% accuracy through private updating (otherwise all specials can be update by users as they change). This adds value to the bars, the users and to Great Time Apps, which can manage and charge a subscription fee for this.

We also thought that Featuring, like a Google Ad placement, would be great for a bar to show up at the top of the list for a city (while most users sort bars by distance from current location) can draw attention to a bar and it’s specials without disrupting user experience like an ad.

The real gamechanger is our analytics offerings. We spent time, lots and lots of time, to build in reporting and analytics capabilities into our system so a bar can get details about how popular their bar is. Imagine that a bar can now see how it measures up to it’s competition for Tuesday Night beer specials within 3 miles by number of user views? Well now they can.

These synergies, where bars, users and Great Time Apps can all benefit from one another are what make killer products, and also what reinforces the fact that the user isn’t always the customer.

9. It’s a project, not your full-time job!

Anything you are passionate about can consume your time, money and life. Drink Specials certainly has for me, but it’s something I really enjoy. It’s something I make sure stays after 5 and doesn’t conflict with or impair my work, besides being a little sleepy sometimes after a long night up with India, but that’s nothing a little sugar free red bull can’t fix.

For a side project, remember the side part. Don’t use your full-time employers computers, printers, networks, e-mails etc…use your own. It’s easy to let your thoughts drift, but it’s important to let your hobby be a hobby.

10. You’re not Tim Ferris, don’t move to Rio on Launch Day

This leads me to my last point of the article. It’s a project (for now), don’t go crazy. You’re not Tim Ferris. Give it love and attention, and if it can make sense for your future work/life style jump in and commit to the project as your calling.

For me, the Drink Specials App is a hobby. I have most pieces managed independently of me and my time so they can grow and scale without me. Becoming an app millionaire isn’t likely, and is unlikely to last. This is important to keep in perspective. But don’t let that stifle you. There is a lot to learn through a large side project, lots of skills that make you a better person and even a better employee at a full-time job. And who knows, your concept might just be one of those lucky few that really takes off, and then you’re pet project becomes your pet full-time, rent dependent gig.

Best of luck, feel free to check out the App for iPhone or Drinkspecialsapp.com, and let me know if I can do anything to help with your side project: Eli@drinkspecialsapp.com

Eli also put together this video of the app, enjoy!

Come back to NewlyCorporate.com later in October for an update on the effect of the Drink Specials App Lite! And if you like content like this, don’t forget to subscribe!

A lot of people ask me about my experience as a first time application developer and new business owner. They wonder how I got the concept for the Drink Specials App and I get near constant questions on sales and revenues for the business, Great Time Apps LLC. For some background, visit www.drinkspecialsapp.com or to view the application in iTunes, http://itunes.com/apps/drinkspecials. This article will focus on the process and lessons learned so far (a month after product launch and 9 months after initial concept creation) and not on the application itself.
Lesson’s I’ve learned:
1.  Solve a real problem, and it’s best if it’s your own

This has been very important to me since day 1. I have lots (and I mean lots) of ideas of varying worth, scale and likelihood of existence, and this is the first question I ask of them: Does this actually solve a problem? How many people have this problem? (the market) Is this something you can be the one to solve.

With the Drink Specials App, I am out to solve a simple problem: find accurate, local drink specials quickly. The problem is that there are lots of lists, but few are up–to-date and/or are easy to navigate when you are out. Using the power of the iPhone and wireless connectivity, the problem of verifying information is solved by users around the world who can update the info right from the handset…not sitting at home on their computers.

2. Do one thing, and one thing only

This lesson was taught to me by a very successful internet entrepreneur I met who has made his mark in information products. He said to do one thing. I hear a lot about how new products and web 2.0 ideas are “craigslist meets facebook with some twitter-like concepts…but about helping people go green”. It’s too many things! Only do one thing!

The Drink Specials App does one thing: helps you find drink specials. That’s it. Doesn’t sing to you, doesn’t dance, just does it’s job. The average time a user will have the app open at any one time is under 2 minutes because it’s a utility. There when you need it, not there to bother you when you don’t.

To me this is important because it gives you scope, definition and a niche you can play and excel in. Originally, I had thought this could also be great for live music, event and concert data…but when you would stack it up against something like Eventful.com, it can’t hold a candle. That’s where it would make sense to partner, not a competitor.

The Drink Specials App has a simple mission: Create the World’s largest and most accurate drink specials platform, updated by users

3. Use experts who do one thing, and one thing only

iPhone has a robust, although often hamstrung, software developer kit (SDK) to allow independent developers to make apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch. I am not an expert in programming, and if I was going to make an application designed to pass not only Apple’s standards for the App Store but also thousands of users, I would need to consult experts.

I found a group that does only mobile application development (iPhone, Blackberry, Android, Windows Mobile etc…) based in Bangalore, India. I found that they had expertise in this niche, and began working with them because of it. Many other companies who I showed the specification to said they knew many, many other technologies, but I wanted people who only did one.

If you need surgery, why go to a general practitioner if you can choose a specialist?

I then needed graphics, so I found an artist out of Vladivostok, Russia who had great work. And guess what? She and her partners only do mobile icons and web graphics. They are niche players and damn good at it. The team at HookieTookie.com understood my needs and delivered wonderful icons and web art, and they will be my future go to for all application art.

4. Accept the things you cannot change for the sake of the relationship

Often we forget that negotiations are not a one-time-deal. When I dealt with my development firm in India, we often differed on expectations and interoperations of requirements. Some was due to language, some was due to time difference (one group was usually tired while meeting), but also, it’s just the natural business exchange between two parties with often opposite interests.

I expected a lot out of the application, and some things are just not possible on the iPhone platform, or I had not included in the original scope of work. In this case, you need to get creative to solve your problem, given constraints. I learned that “you never create without constraints” because you don’t have to. With fixed scope and deadlines, you need to compromise on certain points because the relationship that you need to maintain, for potentially a very long time, is an important fact. If you drove the letter of the law home everyday, no one is happy. Who really likes it if you enforce speed limits?

5. If you can’t talk about it because others might do it first, it’s not that good of an idea

This is so important. I found myself thinking of concepts for websites, apps or businesses, but not wanting to talk about them because someone might steal them. Guess what, if it’s that simple to steal, once it’s successful, someone with more time, more money, more experience will steal it. Then what for your great idea? It’s not the quality of the idea; it’s the quality of the execution.

People have created drink directories before. People will after the Drink Specials App. My spin was using the iPhone device, the power of the crowd and committed individuals who share the vision to create something great that is always living and being updated. It’s not a static website that you can submit changes via e-mail for. If something isn’t right…fix it…you’ve got the internet in your hand. The time seems right for this application, and that’s why I was happy to talk about it and share my goals for the application. I think the network effect of so many users, updating the app constantly create something that is difficult to recreate, and it gets better everyday.

Think about Facebook. At the start, it wasn’t that exciting. Even now, it’s fine, but nothing shocking happens on the website itself. It’s the fact that all your friends are there. It’s the fact that you can’t really leave, and wouldn’t really want to. It’s the fact that it’s worldwide, always updating, always current that is the reason it’s a killer app. Taking those concepts, and applying them to a niche (drink specials), is the reason that this app will reach its goal of being the World’s Largest and Most Accurate Drink Specials Platform, updated by users.

Come back to NewlyCorporate.com Wednesday for the final 5 lessons! And if you like content like this, don’t forget to subscribe!

We have a great analysis of what the tradeoffs are for different downpayment percentages in “The Dream Home (or Condo): Saving for a Down Payment” from our Dream Home series.

Many of the questions though, are specifically around PMI or Private Mortgage Insurance.  If you have a loan with less than 20% down, in most cases a 5% or 10% down loan, you are required to pay PMI.  In most cases it will run you from $90-120 or more a month depending on the size of your loan.

Most people, when considering such a big purchase, think of the monthly PMI payments as peanuts, insignificant.  When it comes to cash flow though, it’s far more than peanuts.  Here are a few cost comparisons for $120 in PMI per month:

One Starbucks Specialty Coffee a Day ($4)
A Movie Out and Popcorn for 2 a Week ($28)
iPhone service and 20 Songs a Month ($120)
A basic 42″ Plasma TV a Year ($1440)

Depending on the cost of the house and your down payment and whether you pay extra principle, you could be paying it for approximately 8  years, or $11,520 total!

I am not saying it may not be worth it but, it is always helpful when making any purchase to put things in comparative terms when you are budgeting. Have you had any experiences with PMI?  Please share your thoughts in the comments!

Have you had a long week?  Do you need something to laugh about in your cubicle?  If you’re in a prankster mood, here are some classic office pranks and some things you can do to rile up office zombies.

1. Staple your reports in the wrong corner
2. Swap the regular and decaf coffee – This is EVIL!
3. Play with the auto-correct on your co-workers computer.  Configure the word “and” to change to “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere”
4. Put tape over the mouse optics
5. Cut your fingernails or toe nails
6. Unplug a co-worker’s monitor
7. Talk to sick employees while wearing a dust mask
8. Turn your earphones up all the way
9. Turn your speakerphone up all the way
10. Burn popcorn in the microwave
11. When your co-worker is out of down, cover their office in foil, plastic wrap or post-its (and then send us the picture!)
12. “Forget” to put your tuna sandwich in the fridge
13. Leave your tuna sandwich in the fridge
14. Empty the paper out of the main printer/copier
15. Empty the ink or toner out of the main printer/copier
16. Hang up the phone before they say, “good bye”
17. Slurp hot coffee during meetings
18. Chew ice during meetings
19. Walk around the office barefooted
20. Empty out a co-workers office on a Friday afternoon
21. Glue their mouse to the desk
22. Turn down or turn up the contrast on their monitor
23. Use goofy event sounds for your programs
24. Send flowers from one co-worker to another
25. Leave hole punches all over
26. Leave your lunch garbage in other people’s cans
27. After each sip give a refreshing, “Ahhh”
28. Set a password on someone’s screensaver
29. Carry on a conversation with someone two cubes down
30. Smirk when a co-worker walks by
31. Eat half of someone’s lunch
32. Swap co-worker’s chairs
33. Take all the ice out of the community freezer
34. Hit all the floor buttons when you leave the elevator
35. Make hissing sounds into the phone and insist you have a bad connection
36. Flip the left and right mouse button defaults
37. Take out the ball in the mouse
38. Tell a long story without a point
39. Tell a co-worker you liked their hair better last week
40. Bring Cheetos for food days
41. Drag your feet when you walk down the halls
42. Exclaim your co-worker didn’t wash his hands when leaving the restroom
43. Set your mobile phone to an obnoxious ring tone
44. Forward chain letters and other spam to co-workers
45. Express your political views at length
46. Whisper loudly
47. Drink the last cup of coffee without making a new pot- Raise your hand if you’re GUILTY!
48. Answer your mobile during meetings
49. Stand over someone while they are on the phone
50. Sneak up behind someone
51. Mess with the thermostat
52. Recycle other people’s print jobs
53. Be overly nice to people
54. Leave fingerprints on the copier glass
55. Type loudly
56. Give everyone a nickname from a TV show- “Intern”
57. Peer over the cube and wait for a co-worker to look up and notice
58. Use the intercom and page yourself
59. Hide the sugar and creamer
60. Type emails in uppercase and excessive punctuation

Some steps compiled from here and here .

We accept no responsibility for encouraging you to have fun on Fridays.  We would love to hear your cube farm adventures. And, on a more serious note, if you need this post to add some sort of value, be self-aware of your actions.  It’s good to be mindful of how your actions affect your co-workers.  But, have some fun too

Why, when I couldn’t find parking due to a big event downtown, did I park in the lot of one store that sold beer and walk 4 blocks to another one on this particular Sunday ? It sure wasn’t for loyalty points that would eventually get me a $5 off coupon.  It was because of the relationship, through connections, product knowledge and communication, I had developed with the store and the people that work there.

Here are the “three secrets” (or just old fashioned common sense ideas) to developing good relationships and driving true customer loyalty from Generation Y individuals:

Connections

In the case mentioned above, the owner of the store (Joe Woelfle, @BlatzLiquor, 1000+ Followers)  and the staff interact directly with customers making connections in person around the product being sold.  That’s not all though, Joe and his team reach out via Facebook and Twitter to engage a loyal customer base even before they show up in person.

Product Knowledge

Big box stores have their place and shouldn’t be ignored but, the knowledge that some stores can share leave customers satisfied and looking forward to their next purchase.  This fulfillment of  customer curiosity is often viewed as paramount for Gen Y Young Professionals.

Think about the Apple Store, an undisputed leader in marketing to the Millenial generation, it has hands-on examples everywhere and never-ending opportunities for classes and one-on-one sessions.  Product knowledge sharing isn’t just a tech thing though, Blatz Liquor has numerous free wine and beer tasting session that keep old customers coming back, bring in new customers, challenge customers to try new things and ultimately make for blockbuster sales numbers.

Communication

Not just emails!  Let me say it again, get past the newsletters!  Yes, they have their place but, they quickly get viewed as spam and ignored.  Especially after multiple invites/reminders.  When Joe has an event, I passively notice a Tweet, see a post on the company’s blog with more information, commit to a Facebook invite and, only sometimes, receive an email.  As communication continues to segment, companies need to be familiar with each segment and use them properly to build a loyal millennial customer base.

What makes you a loyal customer? Do have any other great examples beyond Apple and my local favorite, Blatz Liquor? Share them in the comments!

Due to a recent project I have been working on, I am realizing the hurdles for big businesses trying to enter the social media realm from the inside.  We all love to blame the internal hoops we have to jump through to try and interact with the outside world through the web but, where do most of those hurdles come from?  Government regulations and social stigmas.  FCC, FDA, Financial regulations, they all pile up between a business and it’s customers freely interacting on the social web.

Without getting into the politics of restrictive government regulations that spur internal hurdles and slow corporate social media adoption, I would like to share some of my initial tips for young professionals trying to get their companies to at least get their feet wet in the world of online customer interaction.

1. Focus On a Small Opportunity.  Find a project or customer touch point with the least amount of sensitivity and government involvement and look for a way to execute it in an online environment.

2. Limit Your Audience.  I know this flies right in the face of what social networking is suppose to be about but, most companies are conservative, they want to make sure something works well before exposing it to the world.  Plus, it will be easier to convince internal gatekeepers to try something with a limited target audience.

3. Build Consensus.  Work with early adopters and tech-savvy employees to explain and flesh out the idea so you aren’t going it alone.

There is no reason even this first attempt can’t be bold and create great benefits, it will.  More importantly though, it will gain the trust, knowledge of regulations and support to increase your companies social media footprint even more.

Have you done something like this for your company as the “resident Gen-Y social media expert”?  Share your experiences in the comments.

Image Credit: matthamm

“Attitude is Contagious: Is yours worth catching?”

The economic challenges that we are all facing right now have an undeniable effect on our attitude.  Some handle the stress of layoffs and cost cutting in different ways, from cynicism to criticism and sometimes even downright anger.  Our attitude, however, is not just a coping mechanism, it is one of the many factors our peers and supervisors use to judge our ability to do our jobs and motivate others.  Along with job performance, it can make or break hiring and firing decisions.

Is your attitude worth catching?