Why Blog?

I struggle with what to write frequently. I either have too many thoughts or too few and seems that putting them down in my blog takes time away from "real work". However, I just ran across a fantastic visual of why to blog and I'm inspired.

CK put together a PDF of input she received from other bloggers. My addition would be...I blog because it feels great to share knowledge and experiences. What good is it to learn lots over the years and not pass along what you've picked up. Perhaps I'm a teacher at heart...after all I did spend 3 years doing just that...teaching.

In the spirit of why I blog, I'll be posting later today about branding...one of my favorite subjects.

Writing

When I was in college I wrote all the time. I kept a journal, I would write for the paper, and I even became editor of the college paper. I loved writing. Then something happened...life. I forgot how much I enjoy writing and creativity. And stopped keeping my journal, stopped drawing, stopped using my imagination with any frequency.

I'm working at getting back in touch with my creative self. Since starting along this path two months ago, I've found myself writing more frequently. I was even inspired to imagine and write a short-story, children's book called "The Adventures of the Prince and the Princess of Gimleston". Now doesn't that sound fun? It was. I took the contents of a dream, enhanced it, then recorded it. I spent a couple of weeks tweaking the story.

Then I found a website Lulu where I can self-publish the book. So, for Christmas my niece and nephew are receiving books, written by me. The story definitely needs work and depth, but it was so much fun to put my first thoughts together, I just had to share it. Consider it shared.

Now, may I suggest to all of you who are equally creative, spend some time playing and engaging your creativity. The rewards are worth it.

Marketing Commodities

Here’s a good example of taking something that is generally seen as a commodity and turning it into a reason to buy.

From Seth Godin…

I got a soccer ball in the mail today. As far as I can tell, it's just like any other soccer ball.

Except it's not.

It's not... because it's from Fair Trade Sports. They only use adult labor (which shouldn't even be necessary to say) and they donate after-tax profits to kids' charities.

Does it change the way you play soccer? Probably more than you know. Does it change the way the balls get sold? Of course.

A commodity is only a commodity if you treat it as one.

Are there ways to take tax returns and financial statements, generally perceived as commodities, and make them into something worth paying money for? Of course there are ways. This is what I’ve spent 15 years working out. What I’ve determined is you don’t sell the product.

In the case of Fair Trade Sports, they’re selling the way the ball is made and the feel-good aspect that child-labor isn’t involved. They are also taking a stand on human rights and community relations. They’ve made buying the soccer ball into a way to give back to the community and make a statement on child-labor practices.

In accounting, we sell peace of mind and comfort. To us, it’s all about the relationship with our clients, our team members and our community. If we aren’t serving those three constituencies properly, we are going to fail as a business. It’s as simple as that.