Archive for May, 2009

Only 3 weeks ago I blogged about TweetMyTee.com. My little idea for a T-Shirt business, using amusing Tweets.

But it’s dead.

Because Threadless had the same good idea. So last week, they launched twitter.threadless.com. Bugger.

Ahh, I should have known that Threadless and Twitter were in cahoots. Anyway, I’ve decided to let my Tweet My Tee project go, because:

1. Threadless have a HUGE fanbase, and an email newsletter subsciber list to die for
2. I don’t stand a chance at competing against their might
3. This was only a side-side project for me
4. Their homepage looks fabulous and is well co-ordinated with Twitter itself
5. The website is much more appealing than my little spreadshirt shop ever could be
6. They’re paying $500 per winning T-shirt!
7. They’re already a T-Shirt company. I’m just a kid with a laptop
8. This idea has generated a huge amount of blogosphere buzz for Threadless, resulting in tonnes of submissions.

I’m not bitter. Not at all. Threadless have nailed the idea. The execution is perfect. They are an amazing company, and this is a perfect fit for them.

For me, it’s been a good lesson in “Fail and fail fast”. Every winning entreprenuer talks about their failure stories. This, I guess, is my first (but not my last). I lost this one, but I’ll be back with plenty more ideas. You’ll see.

Besides, Twitter T-Shirts will be “So 2009″ in 2010. And at least I know that you know that I LAUNCHED IT FIRST!

(Of course, you can still by the 2 TweetMyTee.com t-shirts whenever you like. Who knows, they may be worth something someday)

My good friend Scott from Haul.com.au nailed it this evening when he told me that “Stuff White People Like” is everyone’s marketing strategy these days.

The famous blog (turned book) points it’s satirical aim at the Urban White ‘Hipster‘. It’s a terrific read if you haven’t seen it before.

Ironically, so many of us businesses and marketers these days take aim at exactly the same group. The brands that I often talk about and admire, including Apple, Moleskine, Threadless … they’re all going after the affluent, environmentally and socially conscious, anti-corporate consumer. I’m no different with ivoteforart.

Did Christian Lander realise he was writing a marketing book?

Side note – Scott said this while we were among friends, drinking Asahi beer given to us at the Threadless symposium in Melbourne, hosted by the Portable film festival – I know, how white is that? And now I’m blogging about it on my MacBook Pro, on top of an IKEA desk. I could go on, but I won’t. (Besides, I have to put out the recycling and the compost.)

Hello World!

This is my first post at www.ben-rowe.com … and where you’ll find my blog from now on.

I’ve been keeping a semi-regular blog over at benrowesblog.wordpress.com for some time now. But now I’ve decided to move from WordPress.com to Wordpres.org, and register a proper domain name. I’ve imported all the old posts, so you can find them all in the archives.

So here it is. Thanks for visiting.

I’m using the Grid Focus theme right now, but will be moving to my own theme shortly. A bit more tweaking to do there first though.

Last weekend, I launched an online business. In 4 hours. From idea, to a live website … and all within the comfort of my bedroom. I’m not telling you this to show off. Anyone could have done what I did.

OK sure, I started an online T-Shirt business, not a Nanotechnology business. But nonetheless, it’s incredible how much you can do these days with an internet connection, a laptop, and an idea.

The idea? Users submit memorable / funny / interesting Twitter posts, or Tweets each week. The best Tweet submitted each week is then turned into a real T-Shirt, ready to be printed and ordered online. I figure with the massive growth of Twitter at the moment, it was potentially a good idea.

I had the idea quickly, so wanted to implement it quickly. It was about 11:30 on a Friday night. I ran the idea past my wife. She didn’t look at me as though I was a complete lunatic. So I set myself a challenge to get the concept up and running before I went to bed that night.

(Yes, this post is also an admission that I’m often a Friday night computer nerd, but that’s another story)

I got started. I registered a domain name (http://tweetmytee.com) and a matching Twitter ID (@tweetmytee). I signed up from an account on Spreadshirt, the DIY T-shirt community site. I came up with a design for the T-shirt. I threw a logo together. I chose the T-shirt styles and colours. One style, 3 colours. Keep it simple. Keep moving quickly.

With a short deadline, I found myself in a strange rhythm. I deliberately made decisions in a split second:

How much to price the t-shirts for? How about $2 less than at Threadless.

What colours? The first 3 that spring to mind.

What does the logo look like? How about a simple bird design.

Has anyone done this idea before? Don’t know, no time to check right now.

And within 4 hours, I had the site up and running, with the first set of T-shirts up for sale. And I’d spent a total of $25 US (on the domain name) to make it happen.

So, my key point here is … that it’s easy to get a business started? It’s best to move quickly? To launch any idea that springs into your head?

Well, they’re part of it. Regardless of whether this idea will take off, it was a real learning experience to do something like this. To completely avoid planning, and to just jump in head first is definitely worth a try. And to make the most of the fact that it has never been easier to start a business (especially an online business) as it is now.

But my key point, I guess, is that you can’t just launch a business quickly and expect it to take off with only 4 hours of labour. If I really want my idea to gain traction, I have to nurture it like any other business.

I’m now finding myself spending more time than I’d initially planned to get the word out, to generate submissions for the next T-Shirt. Regular readers will know that I have a full time job AND another business, so perhaps I’ve bitten off more than is chewable. If entrepreneurship’s like a rollercoaster, this has been like the Mad Mouse.

And it isn’t easy. It hasn’t become a viral success like I imagined it might. I learnt that others have come up with similar concepts before. I’ve made a couple of major mistakes. And I haven’t sold a single T-shirt yet.

But you know what? It’s been fun. And it sure beats any of the crap on TV on a Friday night, anyway.