The Good Stuff, The Bad Stuff and Other Stuff
To all the soupornuts.com subscribers, I apologize for my lack of posting for the past week. I hope that after you read this article you will understand why.
The Good Stuff
1. Daddy – Daughter Date Night
My two girls and I attended Daddy – Daughter Date Night sponsored and hosted by a local church this past Sunday night. It was an event that my girls had been looking forward to for weeks.
Yes, this is a picture of me painting the nails of my youngest daughter. I also:
- blow-dry hair
- help brush teeth
- give piggy-back rides
- play dolls, on occasion
- and I also put on corsages, as I am doing for my oldest daughter (on the right)
Because I wanted each of my girls to feel particularly special, I enlisted the help of my father to double-date with us. With his help, each of my girls had someone’s full attention all night.
We all had a wonder time. I’ll never forget it and I hope that my girls don’t either.
Thanks Pop for all your help.
2. The Rotater Continues to Impress
We saw the guys from 1StopForGolf.com in Orlando at the PGA expo. They have been using the Rotater since September and have featured it as their Golf Product of the Month (November 2007). Every time that they came by the booth to see us, we were busy demonstrating the Rotater.
A couple of days ago, I discovered that they had posted “The Rotater Continues to Impress” on their blog.
3. The Birmingham News runs a feature article on the Rotater
About three weeks ago Anna Velasco, a writer from the Birmingham News traveled about 150 miles to meet Scott and myself so that she could interview us about the Rotater. She was especially intrigued as to how an industrial mechanic could have created a shoulder device that is so effective for so many people across so many different markets.
Anna spent a couple of hours asking questions and picking our brains, which resulted in this article: Industrial Mechanic invents tool to improve shoulder mobility, finds niche in athletics.
4. Huge traffic to the Rotater website
Because of the article in the Birmingham News, we received a massive influx of traffic, which translated into huge sales.
The Bad Stuff
1. The Rotater website crashes!
Huge traffic is cool – if you are prepared for it. Apparently, we were not. I am unsure as to who the real blame lies with:
- I could immediately point a finger at our hosting provider
- or perhaps it is because I did not purchase a plan that provides for such a huge traffic inflow
You can be sure that it is a priority for me now that I realize how vulnerable we are.
Fortunately, we were only down about thirty minutes before the system reset itself and traffic was able to resume. However, there is no way to be able to calculate how many people tried and did not get to see our website nor whether they will ever come back.
2. Our blog crashes – down two days!
Our blog, Shoulder Performance & Rehab crashed a short time later. It did not reset itself, so I set out to determine what the problem was.
When I tried to login to my blog, I kept getting the following message:
WordPress database error: [User 'mydomainname' has exceeded the 'max_questions' resource (current value: 50000)]
The wording of this message led me to believe that there had been some kind of problem in my databases. I was wrong. After doing some research, I discovered that our hosting provider sets a limit of 50,000 requests per hour for this particular plan, regardless of your hosting plan’s advertised total bandwidth allowance.
50,000 requests per hour sounds like a lot. In reality, it is not. Every link, image or widget on a page is considered a request. You can easily have one hundred or more requests per page.
The result: 50 people in one hour hit your blog, each viewing ten different pages – your blog goes down. And it does not come back up without contacting technical support – only after you discover it is a hosting issue and not a database issue.
3. Hosting Suggestions?
I have been doing some research in order to find a hosting provider that:
- offers excellent and dependable service
- responsive customer service
- affordable hosting plans
Do any of you guys out there have any suggestions? Please leave a comment and let me know about your experiences.
The Other Stuff
1. No Baby – Yet
My wife is still pregnant. She is due to deliver our baby any day. We can hardly wait.
2. The Rotater goes to Boston
Scott Kay (my business partner) has traveled to Boston to introduce the Rotater to the golfing public for the first time at the National Golf Expo.
3. Special Thanks
I’d like to thank Albert @ Urban Monk for mentioning soupornuts.com in an article he wrote entitled “The beauty of Impermanency and the Illusion of Ego”. Thanks for your endorsement – you carry quite a bit of clout.
Marketing is easy when your product is good
I am back. I spent most of last week in Orlando at the PGA merchandise expo, where we were:
- demonstrating the Rotater
- giving interviews
- discussing possible distributorships (both local and foreign)
- answering questions
- networking
- and making lots of sales
Marketing the Rotater is easy when you have guys who are willing to step up and tell you how much they believe in your product.
The joys and frustrations of being an entrepreneur
JOY #1 – Its an adrenaline rush
Being an entrepreneur is like careening down a mountain road at ninety miles per hour with one headlight out. Its both thrilling and terrifying at the same time. You react to circumstances as quickly as you can but still you wonder if your last decision:
- will throw you off the mountain
- will cause you to run headlong into some obstacle
- will allow you to gain even more speed and momentum
It can be a true adrenaline-laced thrill ride. But like an amusement park roller coaster, every peak is followed by a valley. These peaks and valleys represent the joys and frustrations of entrepreneurship.
FRUSTRATION #1 – Not everyone shares your enthusiasm
When you are “moving and shaking”, you tend to assume that everyone around you is interested in your success. They are not. In fact, some are secretly hoping that you fail. Why?
- If you are successful, then others are forced to examine why you achieved your success while they have not.
- If you are successful, then you may move beyond your current environment leaving some friends behind.
JOY #2 – Press Coverage
The Montgomery Advertiser ran an article yesterday about the Rotater and noted that it had been recognized as the “GOLF PRODUCT OF THE MONTH” by 1StopForGolf.com.
JOY #3 – A large spike in traffic to therotater.com
One of the benefits of press coverage is that it creates a natural curiosity in people. They want to see what all the fuss is about, so they travel to our web site to watch the Rotater video and read the testimonials.
This press coverage has increased the awareness of the Rotater and has created a viral “buzz”. More and more people are learning of the benefits that the Rotater provides for post-operative shoulder patients, athletes and breast cancer survivors.
JOY #4 – Increased sales
Increased sales are the quest of every entrepreneur! When you get more eyeballs looking at your product or service plus an unsolicited and unpaid endorsement from a fair and unbiased third party, the result is an increase in the volume of sales.
So, we had a nice increase in sales yesterday.
FRUSTRATION #2 – Learning how to maintain momentum
While I am thrilled by the attention the the Rotater received yesterday, I realize that today means going back to the drawing board.
- Today, we will have to call or email contacts to increase an awareness of the benefits of the Rotater.
- Today, we will have to follow through on our commitment to excellent customer service.
JOY #5 – A powerful telephone call
In the midst of all the excitement yesterday, I received a phone call from a renowned golfer who has been using the Rotater for a couple of months. He told me that he loves his Rotater, keeps it in the trunk of his car and uses it nearly everyday.
That’s a powerful endorsement!
FRUSTRATION #3 – No testimonial
I asked this championship golfer if he would give me a testimonial. He said that he couldn’t give me a testimonial for fear that it would endanger his amateur status with the U.S.G.A.
Even though his testimonial would go a long way toward establishing some verifiable credibility for the Rotater, I completely understand this golfers predicament and I don’t want him to do anything that might lead to eligibility issues.
He believes in the Rotater and has offered to help us in other ways. I believe him.
SUMMARY: JOYS = 5 AND FRUSTRATIONS = 3
All in all, it’s all good! Valleys follow peaks. That’s just the way it is. Just don’t allow yourself to stay in the valley. Start climbing to the top of the mountain and get ready for the next thrill ride down.
Tag, I’m it – The Pink Rotater – 1stopforgolf.com
I have been tagged – twice. Brad Bagget at JuiceofChampions and Tristan Loo of SynergyInstituteOnline have each tagged me to participate in The Think Different Challenge.
The Think Different Challenge was started by Peter at I will change your life . com. Peter’s premise, though simple is very profound. Choose something in your life that you are currently viewing as a negative situation and re-frame your perspective so that this negative situation becomes a positive opportunity.
The Think Different Rules
- Write a new blog post in which you “think different”. Follow my suggestions above, or be a bit different and interpret the challenge the way you want.
- State that the post is a part of the Think Different Challenge and include a link and/ or trackback to this post so that readers know the rules of the challenge. Feel free to use the above banner (inspired, of course, by Seth Godin).
- Include a link and/ or trackback to the blogger who tagged you.
- At the end of your post, go ahead and tag some fellow bloggers. Don’t forget to email them to let them know they have been tagged.
- That’s it! Just sit back and enjoy reading peoples’ responses to the challenge.
My Think Different Situation
I am a morning person. I love the mornings. Most of the time, I’m up by 4:00 a.m. and hit the ground wide open. I’m loud, excited and as my wife says, “obnoxious”. Only in the mornings, of course.
My wife on the other hand is not a morning person. She wakes up in stages – if she must get up. She does not wake up immediately, it’s more like waking up a little at a time.
- Stage 1: Hit the snooze button at least two times, but preferably multiple times.
- Stage 2: Change from a horizontal position of inactivity to a vertical position of inactivity – in other words get out of bed and sit down to rest.
- Stage 3: Frown at anyone who speaks to you and no matter how quietly they speak, complain that it is too loud.
- Stage 4: Go to the bathroom a start the shower. Don’ t get in – just start the water.
- Stage 5: Sit down to rest.
- Stage 6: Get into the shower and stay there for at least ten minutes
- Stage 7: Get out of the shower, functionally awake but looking at the bed longingly every time you pass it.
- Stage 8: Eat some breakfast and begin to interact with others.
Until just recently I have believed that my wife’s actions were a matter of choice. I believed that she just enjoyed being grumpy, ill and slow. Not anymore.
I have two daughters. The youngest wakes up just like me. Okay, mostly like me, but my oldest daughter is exactly like my wife. She is not, in any way shape or form, a morning person and regardless of my attempts to helping her rise in a good mood, she would rather just wake up at her speed.
My revelation? Maybe the way we wake up in the morning is hardwired into our DNA. Sometimes people don’t want to be excited, encouraged or in a good mood. They just want you to be there – sharing life with them.
I’m still “raring to go” in the mornings, but my youngest daughter and I try to keep it between us.
I Tag
I’d like to tag Daylle Deanna Schwartz of Lessons from a Recovering Doormat.
The Pink Rotater
The “Pink Rotater” became a reality this week. Though there are still some updates that need to be made to the logistics of handling orders as well as some cosmetic changes that are being worked out on the Rotater web site, we are excited to have reached this stage.
I visited with several physical therapists yesterday, all of whom expressed praise for their experiences with the Rotater.
The Rotater – “New Golf Product of the Month”
I received an email from Derek Highley late Thursday with a link to a newsletter that he publishes. When I clicked on the link, I was thrilled to discover that the Rotater had been chosen as the “New Golf Product of the Month” in a monthly newsletter put out by 1stopforgolf.com.
Words cannot begin to express the pride and encouragement that I feel right now. Thank you all for your support.
The price of paid endorsement vs. the cost of lost credibility
Does an endorsement motivate you to purchase a product? Does it matter if that endorsement has been purchased?
Endorsements are big business.
Many professional athletes make as much or more money by endorsing products as they do participating in their respective sports. Athletic shoes, sporting goods / equipment and clothing lines are huge money-makers for athletes and celebrities alike who are willing to attach their names to these products.
But:
- does the attachment of a famous name mean that the product does what is claimed?
- does a paid endorsement make the product better?
- does a purchased endorsement increase the likelihood that YOU will buy a product?
My business partner and I have recently brought a unique product to several markets. This process was initiated in response to a motorcycle wreck which resulted in Scott’s (my business partner) third shoulder surgery.
During Scott’s rehabilitation, he became frustrated at the length of time that the rehab process was taking. So, he asked his therapists if there was some product that he could purchase to use at home that would supplement his prescribed physical therapy. Scott was told that nothing existed other than what he already had.
Rejecting “no”
Not one to take “no” for an answer, Scott set out to design a piece of equipment that he could use at home that would produce the same sensations that he felt during his physical therapy visits. His homemade prototype was the original Rotater.
Eureka!
It became apparent to his physical therapists that Scott was making remarkable progress. When they questioned him about what he was doing, Scott produced his homemade Rotater.
After demonstrating the Rotater to his therapists and allowing them to try it for themselves, Scott’s physical therapists encouraged him to get a patent.
Joint Mechanix, LLC
This initial desire to accelerate his rehabilitation has resulted in the formation of our company, Joint Mechanix, LLC. We immediately began promoting the Rotater to physical therapists. This was a no-brainer to us because we already knew that the Rotater would work for this market.
Along the way, we have received a number of testimonials from both physical therapists and physical therapy patients who have used the Rotater and achieved excellent results.
Athletes feel the stretch
Although not our initial market, athletes have discovered the unique self-stretching properties of the Rotater. This has opened a huge market for us. In fact, we went to the PGA expo in Las Vegas, earlier this month for the sole purpose of getting the Rotater into the hands of serious golfers to get their take on it. We were staggered by the number of teaching professionals who wanted to take a Rotater home with them.
As the Law of Attraction would have it, while we were at the PGA show, we were approached by a professional baseball player in the minor leagues. He asked about the Rotater, tried it and promptly purchased one.
Follow up
Usually, a couple of weeks after a show, either Scott or I or both of us try to contact as many people who received the Rotater as possible in order to see how it is working out for them. And this is how the issue of paid endorsements came up.
I spoke with a teaching pro who had purchased a Rotater from us and I inquired as to how he was liking it. Well, he raved about how good it was, about how much shoulder flexibility he had regained and how much better his shoulders felt.
When he stopped speaking, I asked him if he would like to provide us with a testimonial. I could tell that he was immediately uncomfortable and I quickly found out why.
He told me that his agent had advised him not to provide an unpaid testimonial. Now, I do see his point. As a professional athlete, HE is his product and he has every right to expect to be paid to endorse a product.
It’s a credibility issue for us
However, I don’t believe it is in the best interest of Joint Mechanix to pay someone to say that the Rotater is a great product. To me, it seems to be a conflict of interest as well as a sacrifice of credibility for us. It just doesn’t feel right.
So, if you read our testimonials, you may not see any famous names – but you will know that our testimonials were motivated by results and not a byproduct of financial remuneration.
The Law of Attraction and me
“The Secret” is a best-selling book that reveals to the world the Law of Attraction. The Law of Attraction is not new. Those who have paid attention throughout history have noticed, studied and applied “The Secret” to their lives. Plainly stated:
- like attracts like
- what you think about, you bring about
- you are a living magnet
- your thoughts create your life
I’m not going to go into a long discourse about “The Secret”, but I am going to give you just one of many examples of how the Law of Attraction has revealed itself to me recently.
The Rotater guys go to Las Vegas
This past week, my partner (Scott Kay) and I were traveling to Las Vegas to promote the Rotater, our revolutionary shoulder rehab and stretching device at the PGA Expo which was being held at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and casino.
The Rotater was invented to help post-operative shoulder patients accelerate their recovery process, so we never envisioned ourselves speaking to a bunch of golf professionals and golf buyers about the virtues of having good flexibility in their shoulders. However, after a number of people from the medical world encouraged us to pursue this avenue of promotion, we said, “okay”.
Neither Scott nor I are avid golfers. We both like to play, but we are hacks. Anyway, about halfway through our flight to Vegas, I asked the guy sitting next to us who he was and why he was going to Vegas.
Sitting next to a PGA teaching professional
He told me his name was Derek Highley and that he was going to the PGA show. He went on to reveal that he was a PGA teaching pro and golf marketing specialist. As if that was not enough to make the hair on the back of my neck stand up, he said that he had a degree in Kinesiology (the study of the mechanics of movement of the body) and that he had changed his flight plans the day before.
The Law of Attraction
Some people might think this is a series of freaky coincidental events. Scott and I don’t, because this type of thing happens to us over and over. So, we gave Derek some literature on the Rotater and try to gauge his reaction. He’s sufficiently intrigued and promises to come by our booth with his partner when the PGA Expo opens.
The next day, true to his word, Derek came by our booth and introduced us to Gary Schatz, one of his business partners (they are part of a group that owns Global Golf Marketing). After some small talk, Derek and Gary want a demo of the Rotater and then they each tried it for themselves. They each felt and understood the concept right away. They were sold on the Rotater.
These guys ( Global Golf Marketing ) are the “real” deal
Gary and Derek wanted to buy a Rotater, but we gave them a couple of Rotaters “free of charge”. Little did we realize what a huge investment this would turn out to be for us. Gary and Derek were sending people to our booth all day long. They are definitely “movers and shakers” in the golf community. They know people – people with influence and connections.
If they would go to this much trouble to help a couple of guys that they had just met, how do you think Global Golf Marketing treats their paying clients? With the personalized service they demonstrated to us, it’s no wonder that Global Golf Marketing is growing so fast.
What is the take-home message?
- Learn about the Law of Attraction
- Apply the Law of Attraction to your life
- Live your Dreams
- Global Golf Marketing delivers great, personalized service
The Rotater was a huge success at the PGA show. A large number of the teaching professionals understood that increasing the flexibility of their shoulders was beneficial and could help improve their game. They wanted their own Rotater and said that they would be recommending them to their clients.
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