petereco

Before the Internet we had very little choice. If we wanted the latest news and opinions, we only had print media, TV and radio. And we had to wait for it to arrive. Today, the "Media Life" of many American's centers around the computer. If you're reading this, it is possible yours does too. And the reason it does? You like choice.

If you don't like reading this blog, in 5 seconds you could be looking at wild animals, today's top stories, or a live cam of Mt. Diablo. You have choice. Choice is freedom. Despite what you may hear, we humans are evolving towards more of it. Every cell of our bodies tells us that freedom is right.

The problem with choice, for marketers, is that it forces them get out of the box. If you have Tivo (or DVR of some type) you probably didn't watch a single commercial during the Summer Olympics. We're accustomed to that freedom now. Telling us to start watching commercials again would be like forcing us to wear monkey suits to work each day.

As I've alluded to before, I am not a fan of "shotgun advertising". It is so inconsistent with how our lives are evolving. But every year companies spend billions on advertising, trying to sell you their stuff. The other day I received a leather bound book from Aston Martin. This is a $185,000 car I don't want and don't need (and obviously can't afford). But the nevertheless, Aston Martin probably spent $20 to design, manufacture, and mail me this book.

To Aston Martin, if 1 of every 10,000 people who receive this leather book purchases a car, they get their money back. And if they sell two, well, the campaign was a success. To me, it just seemed preposterous, and I threw the book into the recycling bin.

In the future, the marketing you receive will be like registering for a wedding. In the market for a German car? Turn on BMW and Mercedes. Pregnant? Get a pass to Baby's R' Us and Stork's Nest. Going out to dinner in Walnut Creek? Sign-up for the WC restaurants pass. Home from dinner? Turn off WC restaurants. Simple as that.

Did you ever think telemarketers would nearly disappear? That TV commercials would become outdated and that music and radio would become a subscription? It's happening right in front of us. Time and choice are on their way.

Passbox (the company behind EastBaySocial) is working creatively to bring this world to you. Our timing and execution will mean a lot, but the sacred cow of less junk and more personal choice is as apparent as freedom itself.

I'll never forget when Ken and I pitched the EastBaySocial model to a bunch of Venture Capitalists back in 2006. I don't think I've quite had my butt kicked like that before. Here were some of the memorable comments:

"Sorry, the idea is too small" - Garage Ventures
"I don't get it. I just don't get it" - Some guy I don't remember his name
"This is a million dollar idea. We want $50 million." - Granite Ventures

I was amazed they thought the idea was too small. I mean, heck, small businesses drive the American economy. I think what they didn't like (and still don't like) was the concept of starting small.

After we realized we would be receiving no money from VC's, Ken and I decided to go it alone. We got a small office in Alameda, rented some servers, and began the venture. We didn't think much of it at the time, but Ken and I had started a small business.

Today as I meet with small business owners & professionals about EastBaySocial, I like to think we're able to associate with the challenges they deal with every day. Cash flow, getting the word out, and wondering if anyone will actually like this thing we are creating. When I return to the office to meet with Ken (our technical mastermind), we don't ever discuss how to grow EastBaySocial faster and bigger (to make the VC's happy). We talk about what is working, what people like and how we can tweak the site (to make our members happy).

Focusing on the small is something philosophers and scholars have taught us for centuries. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to sell any religion here. But I do believe the best companies in the world started small and never thought about $50 million in revenue as a measuring stick for anything. Much like the business members of EastBaySocial, Wal-Mart (photo), Starbucks (photo) and Virgin (photo), to name a few, all had humble beginnings.

Unless you are Michael Phelps, doing things too fast is a misstep that can be extremely difficult to recover from. While I didn't realize it then, I feel lucky Ken took his time in building EastBaySocial. Today, we don't have anything to untangle. The site works, and if something breaks, it is easy to fix. Focusing in on the small things has been a key contributor to EastBaySocial's growth.

In one of my favorite business books, Good to Great, they talk about something called the flywheel effect. The author asks you to imagine a giant and heavy flywheel. You begin pushing on the wheel and slowly it inches forward. With each small push the flywheel gains a little more speed. At some point, Breakthrough! - the flywheel is moving so fast that you couldn't stop it if you wanted to.

I like to think every small business and professional has their own flywheel. Was It is the first, fifth, or hundredth push that made your wheel hit breakthrough? Or was it the "small", "little", even "tiny" pushes you made each day? There is no arguing the flywheel feels heavier in the beginning. Yet it seems in most anything we do, it is the consistent application of small efficient acts that allows the bigger picture to unfold.

My first question, while presenting EastBaySocial to a room full of small business owners, was “How many of you have heard of MySpace or Facebook?” Like a team of synchronized swimmers in Beijing, everyone raised their hand. In truth, I sort of expected that response. Most people have heard of social media by now. But for many business owners, it is like a giant elephant (with one foot in the door).

You know it’s coming…but will you talk about it?

To that end, people often ask me how EastBaySocial will ever compete with Facebook. They have 90 million users, a gazillion dollars in funding, and even Microsoft is behind them. We’re just 2 guys in a garage, a handful of photographers, and a limited bank account. Plus, we’ve committed ourselves to the East Bay. Hardly an elephant.

I’m about as certain as a rookie weatherman in all this. I feel like the elephant will make his way into everyone’s lives, but I’m quite sure EastBaySocial won’t be helping you make friends like Facebook does. Actually our model isn’t designed to help you connect with friends. We’re certainly not going to prevent friendship from occurring, but our goal is simple: help East Bay businesses and professionals get the word out about what they do.

At first you might think, “Great, a new platform for small businesses to spam the heck out of me”. And who wants all that junk mail that arrives in your mailbox every day? How did they get my address? Enough is enough, right? Exactly.

But what if you could choose the marketing you wanted? Seriously…what if you could choose it just like you choose the TV programs you can record now. What if you are interested in a small clothing boutique in Pleasanton, and wanted to know when they were having a trunk show or special offer?

Shouldn't you be able to receive a Pass to the businesses you actually like?

Different people like different things. So if you don’t like clothing, you might like restaurants, home interior, or garden stuff. Heck, maybe you’re trying to find some good doctors and dentists. But what happens if you lose your interest in a certain business? In today’s world, they just keep sending you their marketing. Shouldn’t you be able to flip a switch and turn it off, just like you do with your Tivo box?

Every day the world gets more personalized. YouTube lets you view the videos you want, when you want. Facebook lets you create your own network of friends and discover what they’re up to. Even Amazon recommends books you like. As it should be, life is becoming more aligned with our interests. Less expensive and more relevant. Oh yeah, and more “Eco Friendly” – I especially like that one.

Yet here in the East Bay we continue to get information we’re not interested in pushed to us. Ten percent of the time, I am actually interested in the ”junk” that arrives each day. And when that happens, I’m happier for it. The other ninety percent is basically wasted time, wasted paper, wasted money.

EastBaySocial is building its technology around this vision of efficiency. Each of the business members on this network are helping to develop a new paradigm. A paradigm we feel will become an incredibly effective and cost-efficient way for small businesses to get the word out about what they do. There is nothing else like it in the East Bay, and we hope you enjoy getting what you want, instead of what you don’t.

We've been building the EastBaySocial system for so long now, it's easy to think everyone understands what the heck we're talking about. A picture says a thousands words, so I made this little schematic:

Click Here for a Larger version

Browse our business member directory and put some Passes in your Passbox. The system will do the rest.

(And a note for the business owners and professionals: Publish your events, offers, blogs and photos so people can discover your business)

See ya - Peter

I don't know why I like it so much, but I do. I'm captivated by the struggle. The beauty of creating something new. The taking of an idea, not knowing if it will work, and creating it.

I love that Debbie has trained herself to remember the name of each person who frequents her business. And I was shocked when I walked into her store, that Miram greeted me like a 20 year-old son who just got home from college. Or Sarah, who wears her own alluring products to the Danville 4th of July Parade in front of thousands of people to gain awareness.

People at Costco never know my name. At Target, I can get a cheap pair of socks, but the clerk at the register looks right past me. And when was the last time you actually saw the Victoria's Secret models walking around town?

Small business owners have to do things differently. They're not trying to see how many people they can cram through their doors by working on 2 percent margins. They don't have enough leverage to drive hard bargains with their suppliers. And they certainly don't put burdens on the backs of their employees so an elite few of them can get uber-rich.

What I didn't know before we started EastBaySocial, was how inspiring the work would be. I didn't know I'd be working with people who used to make lots of money in the corporate world, but quit to open her own shoe store. How cool is that? Leaving a cushy job and taking a risk so you can do what you love.

You see it's not what you do that matters. It is why you do it. And you can see it on their faces. Sure they want to (and need to) make money. But the goal isn't realized when a profit is turned. I just know Debbie reaches a little goal each day when she remembers the name of an old customer. "Hey there Maggie. Long time no see." If she doesn't know it already, it meant the world to me.

For those of us who never thought much of it before, small businesses and professionals are the anchors of our communities. They beautify our towns, increase our property values, hire our kids and many of them even remember our names.

Target and Wal-Mart aren't going anywhere soon, but now I can hear what used to go in one ear and out the other....If you want beauty in your community, support your local businesses.

If any of you would like to see the weekly business updates we provide our business community, go ahead and click here. I'll try to update this link each week.

If you have any suggestions on how we could improve EastBaySocial.com, please comment below.

Thanks guys...Peter

hey if anyone is interested we are having a shuffleboard contest tonight at elliots - come join us if you can and bring your shuffle skills.

Welcome to our 2^nd weekly update. See below for new members this week.

Website of the Week: Atlas Shops (http://atlasshops.eastbaysocial.com)

Why is it so good?
1. They’ve used their Site Manager to create an offer which has been distributed around the network.
2. They’ve promoted their site and have attracted many Passholders.
3. They’ve used the “Referral” tool to recommend other businesses they like.

Tip of the Week: REFER A BUSINESS

Referring another business on the EastBaySocial network is helpful because you create relationships that give both of you exposure.

To refer another business on our network and have them show up on your network website, just sign-in to your Site Manager, then:

1. Browse other businesses on the network.

2. Once you’ve found a business you’d like to refer, click the Red Refer Button on THEIR network website.

3. Return to your own network website and you will see their clickable logo show up on your page.

4. Visitors will now see which businesses you recommend.

If there is a business you’d like to refer, but they aren’t on the network yet, let us know. We’ll get in touch with them.

Suggestions? I'd love ‘em. Thanks guys – Peter (peter@eastbaysocial.com) or view this email online.

New Members This Week
Walnut Creek

Walnut Creek Yacht Club (http://wcyc.eastbaysocial.com)
Crogans Walnut Creek (http://crogans.eastbaysocial.com)
Wine Styles (http://winestyles.eastbaysocial.com)
Miracullum (http://miracullum.eastbaysocial.com)
Sushi Groove (http://sushigroovewc.eastbaysocial.com)

Danville
Forbes Mill Steakhouse (http://forbesmill.eastbaysocial.com)

San Ramon
Sweetie Face (http://sweetieface.eastbaysocial.com)
IM=X Pilates (http://imxpilates.eastbaysocial.com)
Awedacious Salon (http://awedacious.eastbaysocial.com)

Hey there business owners -

We’re now approaching 100 businesses on the EastBaySocial network, so I thought I'd start giving you a weekly update.

See below for new businesses who have joined in recent weeks.

I've been thinking a lot about how to make the network more helpful for you in these early stages. I'm going to start by including "Tip of the Week":

Tip of the Week: CREATE AN OFFER
To create an offer, just sign-in to your Site Manager, then:
1. Click the circular “Create” button at the top.
2. Click “Offers” on the left.
3. Click “Create New Offer”.
4. Fill out the form, press Save and your done!
Your offer is sent to the community offers area, your network website, and to all your Passholders (taking full advantage of the network effect).

Peter Economos
EastBaySocial.com
925-837-6100 - Office
925-413-9590 - Cell
My Passbox

By now, I've met each of you that have an account on EastBaySocial.com. The fun part about my job is that since last Monday, I've met at least 10 new people. People, who initially said, "Whose that bald guy in my shop?"

My name is Peter, and I've spent the past 10 years of my life bored out of my brain selling Enterprise Software to big companies. I made lots of money doing it, but now I can honestly say, I've finally found my calling.

This is what I love to do. And while some of my meetings with you are filled with questions and wonder, I will say they have been the most pleasurable I've had in my career. It's been a great first week on the job.

Thanks to each of you for inviting me in and taking the time to meet.

EastBaySocial.com is a new concept. Yes, it's a lot like MySpace for small businesses. But if you don't use MySpace (or have kids who do), it may take some time for you to understand the power behind what we're doing.

Without a doubt, each business & proprieter I've met with wants to get their name out there to more people. It's the number one challenge for small businesses:

"How can we get more people to know about us?"

It will take a little time for us to populate our network. My guess is we'll need until October. But at that point, my hope is we'll have begun answering this question for you.