Anyone close to me knows that I value action. I crave it. In fact, you can drop me in the middle of any fiasco your business might be enduring and, if there are clear steps to take, I’m calm – free from worry. But if we don’t know what to do next or can’t move forward that’s when I start to freak out a bit.

I first discovered this little phenomenon in myself about 6 years ago when I realized that I never panicked in traffic as long as the traffic was moving. If we were bumper to bumper but we were in motion, I was fine. It was only if every lane was completely stopped and we could not move that I would start to become anxious.

There are many examples in my life where this is true. Why? I need to be in motion. I need progress. I need action.

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There is great quote from Thomas Edison that many entrepreneurs use as comfort during troubling times.

I haven`t failed, I’ve found 10,000 ways that didn’t work.

I think this is very true and it is a positive way to look at the ups and downs of our businesses.

I try to take this a bit further and apply it to my ‘internal self.’ By that I mean what about ME doesn’t work and what is needed to make ME work better? As the leader in your organization your internal health, feelings, intelligence (pretty much everything) effects the growth and culture of the entire place. Having a well-trained sense of self-awareness can go a long way toward making your organization run the way you want it to.

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I’m very competitive. Always have been. Interestingly though I’ve always been more competitive with myself than with other people. Sure there are people I focus my competitive gaze on from time to time but it’s always been “me” that has pushed “me” to get better. Maybe I’m too self-involved; who knows. We won’t get in to that.

I think businesses focus too much on their competition. Sure, a little competitive keyword research never harmed anyone – not too much anyway. But where do we draw the line between learning from our competition in order to benefit our business  and distracting ourselves from what is most important? When does it go from self-help to self-destruction?

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Awhile back I decided to run a marathon. Now, if you’ve seen pictures of me (though I’m skinnier now) or knew me personally at the time you would have thought that this was another ridiculous dream that would never come true. In fact, going from 0 to 26.2 miles at 100lbs overweight seemed a little ridiculous to me too.

So I didn’t set out to run 26.2 miles. I set out to run five minutes a day. For the first week or so that was tough enough and some days I couldn’t do much more than tow minutes. However, I achieved that sooner than expected and moved on to round two: 2-5 minute runs a day (appox 10 minutes apart but that’s not the point here). After that I moved on to 3-5 minute runs a day. About three months ahead of schedule I hit my first mile run. The next day I ran two miles and the other day, on Super Bowl Sunday, I completed my first 5K about a year ahead of schedule.

So what does this have to do with making $1 Million? Keep reading, it’s coming Kitten…

Running a marathon seemed too tough, even more, it seemed too far away. My goal, no matter how bad I wanted it, was not enough for me to get out of bed in the morning. With that in mind I made it so I didn’t have to achieve my goal when I woke up. I just had to get my non-marathoner ass to the gym and run a lousy five minutes.

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In my last post I spoke about Richard Branson’s exploits and his successful attempts to get on everyone’s radar despite his “small” marketing budget.

The article I referenced also mentioned a second goal he had for his epic “publicity stunts.”

“Our staff also liked the humor, and the sense of fun. They felt proud to be associated with a company that made people smile and that was seen as a good place to work. We made sure the same spirit ran through everything we did; it was not confined to the cute advertisements. It was crucial that we created an enjoyable atmosphere for crew and passengers alike, at 30,000 feet.”

Virgin has many aspirations but no matter what venture they pursue they want to have fun doing it. Even more they want you, their customer, to have fun too.

I am absolutely obsessed with fun companies. I love companies who have fun, make customer experience fun and exude so much sincere enjoyment that you can’t help but jump on board.

My absolute favorite is MailChimp based in Atlanta, Georgia. These guys have so much fun and create so much enjoyment for their customers that not only do you want to sign up but also find yourself rooting for them.

Every time they announce that they keep getting bigger and bigger (it happens regularly) or that they have a new addition to their already excellent service offerings (that happens a lot too – these guys just develop and develop), I am sincerely happy for them because I feel so invested in their success. So much so that when I go to Atlanta next time I will probably be using my in-laws as an excuse because I really just want to go hang out at the Mailchimp office.

One of the funny automated and personalized quotes from the MailChimp UI

I could go into so much detail about why these guys are so much fun but that’s not the point of this post. If you really want to see the fun check out their Flikr or their annual “Ugly Sweater Holiday Portraits” and that will just get you started.

My point in writing this already long post is that fun companies are quite simply the best companies. Brand loyalty is no longer earned with price or quality. It’s earned through the buying experience and there is no greater buying experience than a fun one.

It’s hard to be fun when stock prices are down, sales are sluggish and your employees are just a big pain in your butt. I understand. I want desperately to have a fun company but it’s hard when I’m not achieving the high goals I set for myself.

Regardless of economic circumstances, fun needs to be an asset to your company just like accounting, marketing and PR. But do not think you can get away with fake fun. It’s not Hawaiian Shirt day, trust falls, or corporate retreats. Those all suck, just watch The Office or the movie Office Space if you don’t believe me. I’m talking pure “we don’t take ourselves seriously and we sincerely enjoy what we do” fun.

People, you have to believe me when I say that “fun” sells.

MailChimp is knocking other companies around left and right. And though companies like iContact and Constant Contact have bigger ad budgets and radio spots, I’d much rather give my money to the fun company. Compare price, compare quality but also compare experience.

One of MailChimp's fun, seasonal login screens

Why do we buy Apple products? It isn’t because of the price; that’s for sure. No, we buy Apple products because the quality is awesome and the user experience is even better.  Using a Mac is just plain fun. Using an iPhone is fun. Even buying them is an experience.

I hate shopping malls. I usually only buy online. However, I don’t buy the majority of my Apple products online; I actually go to an Apple retail store just for the experience. I was bummed when I had to by my iPhone at an AT&T store. Why? Because AT&T sucks and I didn’t want to buy my awesome new phone from a dingy store in some strip mall! I wanted to buy my phone from the magical Oz-like land known as the Apple Retail Store! Interpret this as “please retail store, can I give YOU my money and not someone else?” Why? Because they have fun, their user experience is fun and so, by proxy, spending money there is fun.

I am telling you, fun sells. It’s that simple.

Find ways to have fun again and the sales will follow. Exude fun and the money will come.

Fun sells. Fun sells. Fun sells.

I recently read a great article by Virgin Group Founder Richard Branson that made me stop and think. Nowadays I am so busy that I rarely read the entirety of anything let alone a full article but this time I really wanted to take in everything he wrote.

In his article Sir Branson details the outlandish or, as he calls them, “cheeky” advertisements and promotional stunts that he used to propel Virgin Atlantic to the top. I’ve followed Virgin’s brand for many years and always admired his stunts as he has spent many days in the press without paying a newspaper or magazine to run an ad.

“You couldn’t buy a quarter-page ad on the front of The New York Times, but when my sinking boat or crashing balloon just happened to feature the distinctive Virgin logo, there we were!”

You see he needed to get the attention of the world but he didn’t have the budget he needed. I’m sure he had more to spend than you do for your marketing but he was in a game with the big boys and couldn’t afford to play for very long. But Virgin didn’t have to be big in order to be huge. They just needed to think big and think creatively.

In business you either have money or you have creativity. As a small business, you may not have much money but do not ever forget that money may make you big but creativity can make you huge.

Small Businesses don’t have to be small-minded. Before the internet it was: get your business license, have a grand opening, join the chamber of commerce, buy your yellow pages ad and then maybe an ad in the Sunday paper. Now you can inexpensively be fun and exciting and get people to fall in love with your company. Quit selling yourselves short.

I prefer to be that kid on the field who’s short and weak but runs and fights as if he never looked in a mirror or was told he was short and weak. If you’re small that’s fine. If you act small then that’s a problem.

You don’t have to be big to be HUGE!

This week Adam discusses the importance of taking time to focus on the end user of your product or services. In a B2B environment, we often forget that our clients my not be the only people effected by what we provide. It’s important to start thinking straight because it’s all about your client’s clients.