COMMENTS
Fascinating post; I'm retweeting like crazy!
Seth is indeed remarkable, his ability to offer invigorating advice on a daily basis puts him in a league of his own. He was kind enough to include our video about the real people that start natural product companies<a>www.abesmarket.com<a> in his Linchpin Vook which just launched yesterday.
Though they're not for startups per se they still are extremely relevant. I remember reading the "get it right for a thousand before you try ten thousand" post a couple of days ago.
Great stuff!
#2 and #3 are at the top of the list. Great, Simple list.
yes like Mike just mentioned, they are not just for start ups. I believe they could applied for any business and during any phase of it.
regardless, there's a lot to learn from it and i love it.
Thanks
Shank
http://yousocial.us
Dharmesh -
Some words of wisdom perfect for start-ups: "the question should not be, 'how did you shoot yourself in the foot', the question should be,'how fast can you reload".
Good selection Dharmesh!
I've a few from his book Tribes, I'd like to share:
- Build your own tribe
- This isn't about having a great idea... great ideas are out there, this is about taking the initiative and making things happen
- Like a restaurant with a line out the door - it didn't open that way
I will have to remember #8 more often for my own business.
Love #2 - Sell a problem... - so easy to forget, so powerful when implemented.
Dharmesh:
Yes, Seth Godin is (in my book), the most incisive and insightful "New" Marketer in the world. I find it interesting and ironic that your post is titled "23 Tweetable Startup Insights From Seth Godin" because Seth Godin doesn't Tweet! While there's an @sethgodin place holder--- Seth doesn't use Twitter himself. While a mass of marketers are Tweeting right and left, Seth is taking the time to say more with less (not in the character count of his messages) but by distilling his observations into valuable comments and observations that truly reveal. Can Twitterers learn from Seth?! I think so!
It's quite an interesting and incisive piece, and this is good for start ups.
On Creativity...
"A true entrepreneur has no monopoly on how to "invite" a spark...just an annoying habit of not being able to "dismiss" them!"
Extremely useful AND interesting. Makes marketing even more facinating and challenging. I've already tweeted the entire list on my Twitter account (although I have only 4 followers) and posted to my Facebook page.
Sorry, but it was painful to read these rehashed axioms. It's like Tom Peters took a cr*p and Seth Godin came out. I give the guy credit for shameless self promotion though.
Hey Dharmesh,
Just discovered your blog via a colleague. Love they way you think -- and communicate.
Really appreciate this post about Seth's quotables.
Kuddos man,
JP
I love #10 best! I love joy! I love spreading joy! Thanks for sharing!
A couple of my favourites are:
- paths without obstacles usually lead nowhere!
- doors of opportunity aren't opened...they are merely unlocked, It's up to us to turn the handle.
Thanks so much for sharing these great tips! As an entrepreneur in the early stage of building our product, I can't agree more and also get reminded of the wisdom! Thanks!
Good list of small insights, 2 is the one that really matters for any business I guess.
Janaki
I like this list :-)
And Seth Godin too!
Kuddos to You too Dharmesh for the blog!
My favourite: 17) It's not who can benefit from what you sell. It's about choosing the customers you'd like to have.
It's not easy to explain to people somtimes... :-)
Rgds,
Tomasz
I like this one most
21) Get it right for ten people before you rush around scaling up to a thousand.
Satisfy your first 10 customers and others will follow automatically...
We are doing the same.
Thanks
Surendra
http://www.germanymantra.com
http://ssr.germanymantra.com
Wow one of the best post on your blog by far!!! Thank you!!!
an excellent post.
we are a startup heading for the launch at the Demo conference in Silicon Valley (13-15 Sept) and almost every single point of the list made us think once again if we are on the right track. we are convinced we are :-) It is the most exciting time of my career.we will rock the house and we thank all the people who share our idea and support us.
Thanks for this post: simple, concise and to the point.
Sorry.... not a fan of the obvious
Interesting that a couple of folks have comments about not liking Seth. Everyone has different tastes, so no big deal there.
But I found the comment about not being a "fan of the obvious" amusing. In my experience, most failures come about by NOT doing the obvious.
Being reminding of the "obvious" from time to time, is a great way to, hmmm, well, remember the obvious.
Nice summary!
It would have been best if you could link to the original essays by Seth. Google can do that I suppose.
Paraphrasing John Chambers: if you're not making a lot of mistakes, you're not doing enough stuff.
Oh! Yes- A lot of these are rehashed axioms- but the remarkability of Seth Godin lies in the fact that he makes theories come to life in simple, everyday, understandable language. The context gets significance- not 'models' and 'theories'- thus making you relate more to the situation.
It's POP Vs Classical.
I would say Classic Pop.
Shalabh
...still Chasing The Storm
"Sell the problem. No business buys a solution for a problem they don't have."
I also admire Seth Godin. The above quote is actually directly relevant to my business. Although I missed it when he tweeted it, I'm glad you pointed it out here. I am going to implement it into our marketing strategy immediately.
Great list. I vote for number 17.
The problem, of course, is when customers you did not target start buying from you. Then you need to, either have discipline and stick to the plan, i.e. still try to focus on the original customers, or re-examine your assumptions and change you’re the clients you target. Both options are hard to perform and unfortunately, the easiest way is to be opportunistic and try to serve both the original clients and the new ones. Out of experience – this seems great initially but very quickly defocuses your business.
Tal
It's amazing how Seth can distill ideas down to their most basic message. Simple, clean and applicable quotes.
Thanks for sharing,
Colin at SimplifiedEcommerce.com
I have printed this list down and plan to use it as a regular checklist. Thanks!
I've created a video about this topic - 100 people doing something at the same time has far more power than 300 people doing it over time - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1_28kfowJI
Seth Godin has chosen not to tweet himself, because he explains he's not very good at it and doesn't have time.
TED interview (towards the end). Perhaps his genius is that everyone else tweets his quotes for him.
Like this article very much. I like to re-post this in my blog & put linkable url to ur website. I hope it's fine for u..
Thnx
Generate joy is the best one. Have fun while you work and the world would be a better place, wouldn't it
Surprised that anyone could disagree or simply dismiss these as "obvious" or "rehashed". Whether they are or not, obvious things are easily forgotten unless stated simply and memorably. Memorable simplicity is Seth's gift. We could all use a dose of that.
Thanks for assembling the distilled list.
Paul... you are a wise man!
These thoughts may be the art of the bleeding obvious but that does not matter. What does matter is that people starting businesses imagine that such banal observations will be the slightest help. New busineses do not start with simple rules. They start with passion and succeed through persistence, commitment and hardwork.
Good luck to all start-ups.
Roger Haywood
Paul and Michael Werner, I am with you too.
Excellent post. I am working in IT, however find these words highly motivating and flagging out lots of factors that I used to ignore. Thanks for the wonderful post. Will take a print and use as daily checklist.