Things Worth Talking About » Motivational & Opinion

How to become the Captain

Robby Berthume — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 00:27:29 +0000

Sometimes, people take a long hard look at themselves. They evaluate their goals, failures, and successes and stack themselves against their aspirations and their inspirations. It’s one of the healthiest exercises one can do, after all “know thyself” like Socrates says. When that person is an entrepreneur or business owner, they also take a long hard look at their business, asking themselves similar questions.

We end up with a laundry list of goals kept and goals missed, mistakes, and achievements. We ponder, reflect. How can I do better? How can my business be better? It’s crucial to have this back and forth on a regular basis. It’s all too often left for New Year’s and quarterly (if that) meetings in a business context. You might argue with me, spouting your disdain for “self-help” and being preachy and the like. But seriously. If you’re not constantly evaluating yourself and your business, you’re letting life live you. If you’re an entrepreneur, you’re letting your organic opportunities, clients and the market steer. I don’t know about you, but this isn’t my idea of freedom. “Riding the waves” is one thing, crashing into the sand because you’re not taking control of your metaphorical surfboard is another, don’t you think?

And here’s where I want to get practical. I’ve been around too many people, too many clients and too many colleagues that are surfing right along on life’s waves. If you’re on a surfboard and you enjoy your life and/or your business, rock on dude. But if life and business isn’t exactly what you’d like it to be, maybe it’s time to trade in the surfboard for a ship and for you to step up and be a Captain.

How you become the Captain:

You realize it may not always be as fun as surfing
You realize it may sometimes be more fun than surfing, especially in the long run
You realize when you’re a Captain, you have to inspire, mobilize and lead others
You realize you can’t have the title of Captain and not steer the rudder
You have to know how to navigate (there are tools, you know and something called a Captain’s gut
You have to know when to turn around or jump ship (Titanic, anyone?)
You have to turn on the engines (you can’t rely on the waves anymore, now you have to propel yourself
You realize if the ship goes down it’s your fault (not life’s)
If the ship goes down you’re a Captain and that doesn’t change. You find another ship

- @RobbyBerthume

Epsilon Concepts’ CEO Robby Berthume featured on Mixergy.com

Robby Berthume — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:48:13 +0000

Recently Andrew Warner of Mixergy.com interviewed Robby Berthume, CEO of Epsilon Concepts, about his remarkable start a teenage entrepreneur and how to build profitable websites. They discuss the art of talking up your business, the benefits of entrepreneurship vs. school, turning down business to create opportunities, using contests, having a profit-oriented mindset, and starting small.

“In 2000, when he was 14-years-old, Robby Berthume started building web sites for local businesspeople. When he turned 22, the LA Business Journal featured him in its “Twenty in Their 20s” report because his company was earning healthy profits on about seven figure sales by building web sites like WhereToGetEngaged

I invited Robby to Mixergy to talk about what he learned about building profitable sites.”

Dr. SEOuss

Robby Berthume — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 18:12:09 +0000

I would not, could not, be on the first page.
I could not, would not, and grew enraged.
I was not ready to go black hat.
I was not ready with a budget so fat.
I dreamed of links, conversions, and bots.
I dreamed of tags, titles, and slots.

How then will my web page now grow?
Where then should I for SEO go?
CPC, CPM, CRM is Greek.
CSS, CPA, B2C is true Geek.
Blogging and good content I know I must make.
But code validation I am afraid I will break.

I want natural results, so I’m going organic.
Yet I want quicker results since I’m in a panic.
So pay-per-click and banner ads now I will place.
Twitter and Facebook may push my slow pace.
SMM and mobile is now everywhere.
If only I knew how to prepare.

Where should I go for traffic and leads?
How can I make my bounce rate recede?
Affiliates I want and reciprocals I call.
DMOZ and Delicious, I now easily recall.
My hat is now white my code is clean.
I am ready for Google, no longer am I green.

- @epsilonc

When it Pays to Spend

Robby Berthume — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 07:01:01 +0000

I admit it, I love shopping. Clothes, shoes, cars, Apple products, the list goes one. And oh yeah, I love memorable experiences, too. You know, visiting family, trying out that new restaurant, watching a movie, hitting up Vegas, hell, take me to Europe if possible. And of course VIP service. After all, who wouldn’t? And just who’s to blame for liking fun products, hip dining, and stellar service? Not me, I say, not me. Not that I always get what I want (if only).

But we all know we’re living in a new age of frugality. We even have a positive savings rate (5% in January, believe you me). It’s Prius over Beamer, H&M over Gucci, Walmart and Micky D’s over Bloomies and Mr. Chow’s. Always laying out the cash (or plastic) in this newfound age of financial reason may not be the most “in” thing to do. It may even cause more anxiety and guilt than pleasure and relief. What a let down, who’da thought this would happen to us, this prosperous plastic economy of our’s we thought invincible. The bird’s out of the cage — our individual and collective financial foundation has proven to be weaker than once thought.

So when is spending the money really worth it? And not just spending money on yourself, but on others and on your business? Well, business owners (good ones) know that money is a tool (leverage) and that leverage can provide power. When appropriate capital and sound strategy combine, money can be multiplied. Entrepreneurs also know that sometimes you have to spend money to make money. Quality, in-demand people come at a premium. After all, nothing attracts success like success. And even when it comes to your personal wardrobe or garage, sometimes labels and brands represent simple mark-up branding strategy and sometimes they represent so much more. When, then, does it pay to spend?

Is spending the extra $20 on that bottle of wine really worth it? Is your Lexus LS really a far superior choice than the Hyundai Genesis? Should you use the big name CPA or the little guy? The big-boy lawyer or the recently minted one down the street? Will paying $250 an hour for consulting that will save or make you thousands better than paying $100 an hour for average results? Valid questions, varied and individual answers.

I’ll be answering this question (when it pays to spend) over the next several blog posts:

When it Pays to Spend (on Yourself)
When it Pays to Spend (on Others)
When it Pays to Spend (on Your Business)

So stay tuned and prepare to be enlighted. Your feedback (comments, complaints, compliments) is always welcome – the more voices, the more fruitful this discussion will be.

- @epsilonc

Drivers & Distracters

Robby Berthume — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 20:07:01 +0000

I’ve decided that life is pretty simple in ways – it’s made up of “drivers” and “distracters.” In other words, each person has one or more factors driving who they are, what they do, and who they become. On the other hand, people also have one or more factors distracting them from who they are, what they do, and who they become. Drivers and distracters can be held in our subconscience or can be completely conscious decisions. Either way, a large part of the ways in which our lives evolve can be attributed to these two elements.

So what does that mean and why should you care? Awareness and acknowledgment of what drives and distracts you can ensure you are living in and developing the life that you truly want. In other words, you can more fully maximize your mind and personality while enjoying a more rewarding life through accurately pinpointing your drivers and distracters and making adjustments as necessary. Here’s an example in a different context: a person who has been diagnosed with ADD or OCD can subsequently learn how to not only manage, but maximize their so called “deficiency” because they become consciously aware of the hidden inner workings of their mind and personality. This newfound awareness helps them understand who they are as a human being and what makes them tick. Whether or not they choose to use medication to assist with their deficiencies, just the simple act of acknowledgment can lead to a more productive and rewarding life. In that same regard, by recognizing and acknowledging what drives you and what distracts you, you can more fully manage and maximize yourself.

To ensure we’re on the same page, I’ll roughly define what these two terms look like:

An example of a “driver”: You want to be wealthy, so you get up each day and work hard so that one day it will happen. You want a family, so you work hard to find the “perfect” wife and then work hard to have kids. You want a great job, so you go to college and put in the time and effort to make it a reality.
An example of a “distracter”: You feel out of control of certain elements of your life. So, to make your life more bearable and enjoyable, you subconsciously (most of the time) choose distracting endeavors in order to make you feel more in control or more satisfied. For instance, people have bought material possessions, had a kid, got married, taken a vacation, taken up a hobby, or read a book all because they simply wanted to be distracted. They may not have fully realized this, but those distracters eventually take them to a life they thought they wanted before they realize they never wanted it at all, they were simply caving to distractions.

Is it that simple? Are drivers good and distracters bad? Not necessarily. There isn’t a tangible, concrete line between the two and there isn’t always a crystal clear answer. It takes individual judgment, thought, and meditation to brainstorm and determine which activities and thought patterns are driving you or distracting you. Awareness and acknowledgment will help you balance yourself and achieve more peace and achieved goals.

There is a funny thing about life. It’s common knowledge that if you don’t make decisions on your own, someone will make them for you. It would be a monumental task to compile a list of all of the people who have led their lives simply via inertia. They build up a particular paradigm of who they should be, what they should do, and how they should feel about it. It’s almost like there is an invisible list of expectations based on demographics, background, money, etc… that only a select few choose to altogether throw out.

It may seem completely counter-intuitive, but only in a life with no expectations can you fully maximize who you are. It’s not until you fully peel off the ideology that each of us has been fed since day one and recognize that we are all unique. In fact, not only are we unique, but the epitome of a fulfilling livelihood can be achieved by simply becoming more aware of ourselves, becoming less content to accept the status quo, and by actually choosing for ourselves our drivers and distracters. So many people view the lives of celebrities, athletes, authors, and people living-it-up with fun jobs, happy marriages, and fulfilling family lives and convince themselves that those are just “lucky” people and those results can’t be achieved in their own lives.

In my opinion, elements of your personal life can be compared to the life of a business. It amazes me sometimes how business people will develop a plan, include controls and contingency plans, and constantly re-evaluate the progress and life of their business to ensure it becomes what they want it to become instead of what it will become simply from the waves of the market. This is a point worth remembering: whether you’re talking about your business or your life, if you do not consciously choose your drivers and distracters, you could potentially end up living in a life that you never wanted or owning a business that is something far different from what you dreamed about.

Here’s your homework: over the next few days, take a little bit of time to think about what could potentially be driving you and what could potentially be distracting you. Go ahead and ask your spouse, family, or close friends if you want an outside perspective as well. Then, ask yourself what you want your life to look like in a year, in five years, in ten years, etc… Now you must examine what is lacking in your life right now from the life you want to have. After doing so, you may find you should play a little “musical chairs” with the drivers and distracters in your life. The goal is to evaluate and potentially reorganize your priorities as you ensure they are in line with your long-term vision for your life.

Get off your fat ass!

Robby Berthume — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:13:38 +0000

As a 22 year old tech veteran, having started and led a successful digital agency for going on 9 years now, I am used to a certain kind of reaction when people find out the story behind Epsilon Concepts and my personal adventure in this fast-paced digital world. In a nutshell, I started Epsilon Concepts at the age of 14 (not including freelance “bitch work”, of course, as that started much earlier) and have simply worked hard since then to continue to grow, personally and professionally. Let me give you some background: when I was 14 I was already very entrepreneurial and I also realized at a young age that though money isn’t everything, it certainly helps and provides freedom and leverage. I also thoroughly enjoyed working. I guess I should be more specific: I didn’t really enjoy physical or mental labor in_the_act. I think saying I relished the actual work all the time would be a lie. But I did certainly love the way it made me feel and I loved the relationships that good, hard work helped create. I experienced what it felt like to be able to buy your own things and the sense of freedom and security that money can bring. I felt pride when I tried really hard on a job well done, and felt gratified when it was a thorough, professional project completed.

I realized early that your reputation, your personal brand, was everything. It could also be tarnished as easily as an exotic car can be dented by one careless driver (or shopping cart). I started Epsilon Concepts by learning-on-the-fly and building websites for real estate properties, training elderly people on using the Internet, and building websites for the local car dealerships, photographers, furniture companies, travel agencies, and pretty much the entire small town of Chardon, Ohio after moving on from Redding, California, where I started my work. I had a knack for sales and marketing and understood business and relationships very well. I was meticulous about my services and tried to be as fair and and friendly as possible, frequently sending out birthday cards, client gifts, and receiving numerous testimonials, references, and friends in the process. I built the company website and I started getting very good positions on the search engines and building up a strong lead pipeline. I have since revamped and relaunched the company website 8 times. I started working with contractors and have expanded ever since over time, even internationally. I was diligent in approaching everyone I could and following up with people for months and even years, in a polite and personable way, in order to get their business. I developed a very nice client list over time, met many amazing people, and learned so many lessons along the way. Not to say I was perfect or didn’t make mistakes. Far from it, my mistakes were critical to my growth and the growth of Epsilon Concepts and I was fortunate to have started the company in an almost incubator-like environment.

My age also proved to be mostly an advantage. In the minds of most of those older than me, I “grew up on the Net” and especially social media. Sure, I’ve been to more than a few meetings since I started where I noticed eye brows raise thanks to their perception of my youth, but 99.9% of the time those looks were erased after they realized that my company and I were just as legitimate as the next guy, even if he was twice my age. I’m 22 now, having run Epsilon Concepts and other businesses for the past 9 years during a very fun ride of a decade for the Internet. I sold my age to clients by explaining that I had the energy, the passion, and the time to really blow their socks off with my work. I explained that even though I didn’t have a portfolio (then), because their piece was such a critical piece for me in that moment, it meant the world and they would get the best end-result imaginable. And, for the most part, many people trusted in me and I know I didn’t let the majority down (you can’t make everyone happy, it’s not possible). I worked really, really hard, intent on investing in the future personal brand equity I’d have and hoping to watch it and the company snowball. Over the past years, it’s really paid off as I now have an amazing business partner and we lead a diverse team of twenty specialized web and marketing experts, we’ve completed well over 250 projects, and we have some great brands and compelling examples to our name. Our project management (the weak point of the web development industry) is now extremely high caliber, our processes highly optimized, and our overhead minimized. We’ve mobile, connected, and specialized. We offer a suite of web services from strategic consulting to branding to web development and production to social media marketing. We are launching shortly our Marketing Agency arm, Moon Berthume. With this addition and with our existing experience with SEM/SMO, we will offer the full range of services to those start-ups and companies looking to differentiate. We’re now headquartered in downtown Los Angeles and are well connected with industry press contacts, investors, organizations, events, experience, and human resources.

It wasn’t always easy, though, building the company while being a teenager. I graduated High School early and prepared to enroll full time as a marketing student. I thought it was imperative to get my bachelor’s out of the way so that I could grow as an individual and also be able to step into a master’s program easily at some point in my late twenties to continue my studies after building Epsilon Concepts into a large, stable and thriving ship. I simultaneously started taking more and more projects with Epsilon Concepts and I was extremely busy. I juggled many things, was oft stressed, yet I managed to experience a lot and only sacrificed a bit of sleep in the process. I had special arrangements with professors who understood my situation and were willing to let me leave class if I had an important conference call or business engagement. I stayed completely connected regardless of which world I was in, and for the most part everything was pretty smooth. Of course, there were good projects and bad, but I and my growing team learned from our mistakes pretty well I think. I took all that I could handle and then some and was personally carrying the burden of literally dozens of projects. It was very overwhelming at times, but in the past five years this stress has been reduced as my team has grown and we now only accept a very limited number of engagements per year. We’re thriving in a down economy because we’re focusing on quality, ROI, and long term strategy. It’s not just the web production work we provide, it’s how we provide it. We work with our clients as strategic partners, being proactive and thinking on our feet. We know how to make money and we know how to build web apps that rock in terms of usability, user experience, and achieved objectives. We have a team of amazing people that are extremely talented and have genuine personalities. I’ve had many lessons, mistakes, and some amazingly pain-in-the-ass clients and employees along the way, but I’ve learned that just like in life, the life of a business is made up of cycles. It’s a process, a dynamic series of changing events. Problems arise, but so do opportunities. Duds are hired and fired, but the more duds you get the more likely you’ll get some gems along the way. Most things in life aren’t easy, but most things aren’t that hard either. It’s just a matter of riding the days and weeks as effectively and efficiently as possible, so that you are always improving and as ready as possible for the opportunities that will arise. I am incredibly grateful for the problems and opportunities of my youth.

So I got off on a tangent about my personal background, but the whole reason I wanted to write this post in the first place was because I get asked oftentimes at this point in my life how I was able to become this successful at my age. Of course, there are many people far more successful than I am, regardless of how you measure it. On a financial level, guys like Mark Zuckerberg obviously take my cake. I don’t think I’ve gone the easiest routes to make money for the sake of it (that would probably be porn or oil). I think a lot of people think maybe I’m pretty smart or maybe I just got lucky or maybe my rich uncle helped me out! If you ask me, it’s because I’m self-conscious about being lazy. Laziness isn’t an attractive quality to me, when it comes to the analysis of myself. I’m truly my own worst critic and I’ve always thought of myself as being a lazy person. In reality, I’m not sure anyone who knows me or is around me would say that I’m lazy. I work very hard and typically at least 50-60 hours a week and then some, plus other commitments and personal obligations. But, this “thought attack” pushes me to work harder and stay focused. My true secret is simply that I visualize the end result and then pursue it with a focused diligence.

This sounds so easy, right? In theory, it shouldn’t be. But in practice, apparently it’s pretty hard. I’ve really heard a lot jibber-jabber from many people around me about what they can do, what they’re going to do, how they used to rock in a former life. I for one am tired of the lame excuses and the empty rhetoric. Don’t get me wrong, I truly think most people have excellent intentions. They just fail miserably to execute and then whine about it.

Being successful, in my opinion, means you can’t be a total dumb ass, but you don’t have to be Einstein either. The biggest factor affecting your success will be diligence. You will have to work hard, harder than others. Hard meaning intensity and/or hours and/or stress. You will also have to work with focus, with vision. You will absolutely need to zone in on your goals, on that destination to power your pursuit. I hate to sound like some self-help article or a smart-ass advice column, but it really comes down to how hard you want it. If there were five things that I could recommend to someone looking for a secret recipe for success (however you define that), I would say:

Get off your fat ass.
Visualize the outcome.
Get off your fat ass.
Do the best you can with what you have (be resourceful).
Get off your fat ass.

You get the point. If you think I’m being a little condescending by telling you what to do, I agree. So tell you what, I’ll get off my high horse when you get off your fat ass. Until then!

@epsilonc

Thank the taxpayers…

Robby Berthume — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 17:37:56 +0000

Inauguration Day didn’t simply usher in the 44th President heralded globally as hope for an Extreme Makeover: USA Edition. Exciting for web heads, the first change this President made, nearly on the dot during the botched oath was The White House official website. Keep in mind, this is the president who talked about social networking on the campaign trail, embraced Twitter, now posts his weekly address via YouTube, and fought fiercely for his BlackBerry over the last few days. Needless to stay, we web-heads are eager to hear his choice of national CTO and are thankful for the ways in which President Obama has and continues to embrace the Internet for a more transparent government and a more united America.

The first wired President clearly wasn’t just poking people on Facebook in the days before his Inauguration. While Change.gov functioned as the transition hub, he also went to work (or should we say put others to work) on a new version of Whitehouse.gov that would be ready for January 20th’s festivities. In past days, design, usability, social media, blogging, and video weren’t given attention, even in the land of the Internet that Al Gore invented. Former President George Bush’s site design reflected his presidency in many ways, if you know what I mean. President Obama appears to have carried over successful design and usability parameters as well as social media integration strategy from his previous sites, BarackObama.com and Change.gov. Not to mention the online Briefing Room. What a great concept in government, to use the web in this way!

So while President Obama’s administration is blogging about the year of the ox and his stance towards the Muslim world to try and heal the wounds of yesteryear, I recommend you visit the new WhiteHouse.gov site for yourself, grab his RSS feed, and start watching his weekly addresses on YouTube. If government is going to be more transparent via the web, it’s up to all of us to keep tabs on it!

The Old Version of WhiteHouse.gov, courtesy George W. Bush:

:: written by @epsilonc ::

An Important Note on the Abuse of the Phrase “Social Media Campaign”

bushmanbill — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:00:09 +0000

Although I have used it before, I detest the word campaign in the phrase “Social Media Campaign”.

Conversations trump campaigns and the word “campaign” has a military undertone I’m not comfortable with. The people you’re supposed to be having a conversation with are not enemies to be raped, pillaged & plundered.

Although I will continue to use the phrase, it would be nice to find a more accurate way of describing how brands initiate conversations with true fans (see also: Seth Godin’s Tribes)

Until that happens, I will continue to use the word campaign because:
1. It’s pretty much a standard phrase when social media is a part of the marketing strategy, which means that:
2. It is the most efficient way of having conversations with other people involved in the social media landscape

I realize I’m deviating from the original reason these words began to be used in this context to begin with; and that is exactly what I’m saying we might need to do.

One conclusion I’ve come to so far is that although the Sun Tzu route may work in a certain context, there’s a need to draw a line somewhere so that that hawkish mindset doesn’t carry over to the conversations brands should be having with their fans.

Otherwise, we would just be paying lip service to the social in “social media”.

I will now proceed to shut up & return to looking for a word to replace “campaign”.

Any suggestions on where to begin?

Here are a few of the posts that have given me food for thought about the “campaign” part of the phrase “social media campaigns”:
Chrome + Art of Story Telling = Google is the web communication Sun Tzu
The Myth of the Social Media Marketer
Sun Tzu and the Art of Social Computing
Marketing warfare strategies (wiki article):
Sun Tzu Marketing (the book)

Be Yourself

Robby Berthume — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 14:00:25 +0000

Be Yourself
“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” -Confucius

“Be yourself” is a pretty cliche statement, but its value cannot be diminished despite the frequency of its use. Authenticity has been on a lot of minds lately and personality is even a new P in marketing (according to author Rohit Bhargava). In this new era of the web and with the evolution of the open source paradigm, those with personality, humanity, and authenticity will likely succeed. The skin of protection and privacy is disappearing, word spreads quicker, and brands sour faster than the milk in your fridge.

The platform now exists for personality. You can paint a digital picture of yourself (positive or negative) and over time, leave digital footprints and snapshots of yourself along the cyber-highway. Personality will always serve you well so make sure you’re giving people an impression of who you are as a person.

Now that we’ve established that the platform exists and the time is right for making an impression, why exactly should you make a personable impression? Why be yourself in order to be useful? Because being yourself creates an aura of authenticity and helps you come off as genuine. The more genuine you appear, the more people will trust you. The more people trust you, the more use you can provide to them (and the more value you can create).

People can spot spammers and scammers. Sure, if you are yourself, some may not like you, but that’s the risk you take. Unless you’re truly a jerk who provides no value to the world (I’m going to assume you’re not), chances are you’re going to increase your success rate with your social efforts by being yourself.

As a resident of Tinsel Town, I can attest to the fact that there are a lot of fake people in the world. And it’s easy to spot them, they are the name-droppers, the flashers, the ones that brag and carry on about themselves. Don’t go too far. Be yourself.

Lastly, we all admire what we perceive as original. Original thought, original people, original looks. Originality is sexy. The thing is, you don’t have to be original to be perceived as original. And you don’t have to be original to be yourself. Be yourself and chances are, original thought will come as a byproduct. And you’ll be respected as a result. Remember, the more social capital and credibility you have, the more power you have and therefore the more useful you can be.

Poetry in Motion

bushmanbill — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:00:51 +0000

Zidane The Legend 2008 from africa87 on Vimeo (FF to 9:00 mins for the really good stuff).