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More Tips And Advice from AOL Coaches
AOL Business & Career Coach Jake Steinfeld, author of 'I've Seen a Lot of Famous People Naked and They've Got Nothing on You' recently spoke with AOL Book Maven Bethanne Patrick. Here are excerpts of that interview:
Bethanne Patrick: When did you realize that you were more than a one man business? How do you know when you've become a brand?
Jake Steinfeld: I think it really takes time. An entrepreneur rarely has patience. The one thing I've learned from being in business for 28 years now is that I'm a '28-Year Overnight Success.' I think now I can legitimately say that the 'Body By Jake' brand is known around the world. When people see 'Body By Jake' they have an image in their mind -- hopefully a positive one -- about fitness. It's not about a body shop where I'm going to fix your Range Rover.
It takes time to build a brand. Before you can become a brand or your product is a brand, you are the brand. You are the product: going in and selling yourself and your idea. So before you get that money; before you start that business and you hire people to work with you -- they have to buy into your dream, to your personality. When I started 'Body By Jake' it was me: I was the brand. You have to walk the walk and talk the talk.
Bethanne Patrick: Why should a small business be concerned about branding?
Jake Steinfeld: The world is a very hectic, busy place. And you need to stand out. How many things are coming across your desk, your computer, your television? When you drive down the street: names and brands and services. How are you going to step up? How are you going to stand out? How are you going to be different? It's all about what that initial two second reaction is.
That's why a brand is so important. Look at the title of the book I have now. There was a reason for that. 'I've Seen a Lot of Famous People Naked and They've Got Nothing on You!' Go to a bookstore and see 50,000 books -- hopefully my book is sitting out on the front table, and you're going to walk by and say, 'What?' You have two seconds. You want to be able to grab it. I want to know what your brand is. I want to know it's interesting. I should immediately want to pick up the phone to call and order your product or I want to go to a store and see your product. It's got to be succinct, crisp and in my opinion the title should say what your product is.
Bethanne Patrick: How can a business with very little cash still create a strong branding message?
Jake Steinfeld: You're not going to conquer the world tomorrow morning. I think the most important thing is: whatever your product is, start with your community. Become recognized in the community. If you have just a certain amount of marketing dollars to promote and market your product, think how you can get the most bang for your buck. There are so many different opportunities with the internet. Local television spot buys -- meaning a spot-buying campaign where you buy 30 or 45 second spots on cable television -- believe it or not, are very inexpensive. To get your name out there, television is powerful.
If there's anything you can do locally to promote who yourself, television is the way to go. Then you can work around that. Start out locally and then you can go globally.
Bethanne Patrick: What are some ways you made your brand stand out?
Jake Steinfeld: Take Major League Lacrosse, for example. As an entrepreneur, I've always been the guy to go down the road never traveled. I think my history speaks for itself: I was the first one to do personal training and made a business of that. There was no competition really. Same thing with TV: when I launched the television network there was no 24 hour fitness television network around in 1993.
Major League Lacrosse is America's oldest game, but there was never professional outdoor lacrosse. So my competition was summertime sports: baseball, soccer -- some big things! How are we going to stand apart and stand out? Well, American sports fans love hitting, scoring and speed, and our sport had it all. We had a slogan: 'Take it Outside' -- like when you're in school and you take the fight outside. There's also an indoor lacrosse league that's been around for many different iterations from the mid-70's. We wanted to differentiate ourselves from that, first of all. Secondly, there was the slogan of 'American sports fans love hitting, scoring and speed.' And third, I wanted to put a few tweaks to the game to make it more fan-friendly with more scoring. I added a shot clock and I added a 2 point arc to make it more fan-friendly, higher scoring, harder hitting and with a lot of speed. I think that's what set us apart and why we're around today -- going into our 6th season.
Bethanne Patrick: What's the worst, most common mistake that entrepreneurs make when they're starting out?
Jake Steinfeld: I think the biggest mistake entrepreneurs make starting out is that they think they know too much and think they can do it all. If you have a great idea and you're a smart person, the bottom line is this: get help. Whether it's a kitchen cabinet or a good attorney or accountant -- you can't do it all. Your job is to be the spokesperson -- the front person -- but you need somebody minding the store. It's easy for me to say today, but it's very challenging to sometimes to let somebody else 'hold your baby while you're out at the supermarket.'
Bethanne Patrick: Who would you say your book is perfect for? Who is the person that really needs to read 'I've Seen a Lot of Famous People Naked and They've Got Nothing on You?'
Jake Steinfeld: I think this book is for anybody who is in a job that they hate. I think this is for anybody who's been 'downsized.' I think this is for anybody who feels that they're sitting in an office today where they're smarter than their boss. I think this is for anybody whose got a dream and says to themselves, 'I just don't know how to get this business started.' This book is for you, and you absolutely will succeed with it. The book really is for all of the above, and anybody who wants to feel good about themselves. The last thing you want as a street-smart entrepreneur is to wake up when you're 50 or 60 or 70 and look in the mirror and say to yourself, 'At 25 I had a business idea. At 35 I had an opportunity. At 45 there was a moment. And I didn't take advantage of it.' That's what ends up killing you.
Bethanne Patrick: When did you realize that you were more than a one man business? How do you know when you've become a brand?
Jake Steinfeld: I think it really takes time. An entrepreneur rarely has patience. The one thing I've learned from being in business for 28 years now is that I'm a '28-Year Overnight Success.' I think now I can legitimately say that the 'Body By Jake' brand is known around the world. When people see 'Body By Jake' they have an image in their mind -- hopefully a positive one -- about fitness. It's not about a body shop where I'm going to fix your Range Rover.
It takes time to build a brand. Before you can become a brand or your product is a brand, you are the brand. You are the product: going in and selling yourself and your idea. So before you get that money; before you start that business and you hire people to work with you -- they have to buy into your dream, to your personality. When I started 'Body By Jake' it was me: I was the brand. You have to walk the walk and talk the talk.
Bethanne Patrick: Why should a small business be concerned about branding?
Jake Steinfeld: The world is a very hectic, busy place. And you need to stand out. How many things are coming across your desk, your computer, your television? When you drive down the street: names and brands and services. How are you going to step up? How are you going to stand out? How are you going to be different? It's all about what that initial two second reaction is.
That's why a brand is so important. Look at the title of the book I have now. There was a reason for that. 'I've Seen a Lot of Famous People Naked and They've Got Nothing on You!' Go to a bookstore and see 50,000 books -- hopefully my book is sitting out on the front table, and you're going to walk by and say, 'What?' You have two seconds. You want to be able to grab it. I want to know what your brand is. I want to know it's interesting. I should immediately want to pick up the phone to call and order your product or I want to go to a store and see your product. It's got to be succinct, crisp and in my opinion the title should say what your product is.
Bethanne Patrick: How can a business with very little cash still create a strong branding message?
Jake Steinfeld: You're not going to conquer the world tomorrow morning. I think the most important thing is: whatever your product is, start with your community. Become recognized in the community. If you have just a certain amount of marketing dollars to promote and market your product, think how you can get the most bang for your buck. There are so many different opportunities with the internet. Local television spot buys -- meaning a spot-buying campaign where you buy 30 or 45 second spots on cable television -- believe it or not, are very inexpensive. To get your name out there, television is powerful.
If there's anything you can do locally to promote who yourself, television is the way to go. Then you can work around that. Start out locally and then you can go globally.
Bethanne Patrick: What are some ways you made your brand stand out?
Jake Steinfeld: Take Major League Lacrosse, for example. As an entrepreneur, I've always been the guy to go down the road never traveled. I think my history speaks for itself: I was the first one to do personal training and made a business of that. There was no competition really. Same thing with TV: when I launched the television network there was no 24 hour fitness television network around in 1993.
Major League Lacrosse is America's oldest game, but there was never professional outdoor lacrosse. So my competition was summertime sports: baseball, soccer -- some big things! How are we going to stand apart and stand out? Well, American sports fans love hitting, scoring and speed, and our sport had it all. We had a slogan: 'Take it Outside' -- like when you're in school and you take the fight outside. There's also an indoor lacrosse league that's been around for many different iterations from the mid-70's. We wanted to differentiate ourselves from that, first of all. Secondly, there was the slogan of 'American sports fans love hitting, scoring and speed.' And third, I wanted to put a few tweaks to the game to make it more fan-friendly with more scoring. I added a shot clock and I added a 2 point arc to make it more fan-friendly, higher scoring, harder hitting and with a lot of speed. I think that's what set us apart and why we're around today -- going into our 6th season.
Bethanne Patrick: What's the worst, most common mistake that entrepreneurs make when they're starting out?
Jake Steinfeld: I think the biggest mistake entrepreneurs make starting out is that they think they know too much and think they can do it all. If you have a great idea and you're a smart person, the bottom line is this: get help. Whether it's a kitchen cabinet or a good attorney or accountant -- you can't do it all. Your job is to be the spokesperson -- the front person -- but you need somebody minding the store. It's easy for me to say today, but it's very challenging to sometimes to let somebody else 'hold your baby while you're out at the supermarket.'
Bethanne Patrick: Who would you say your book is perfect for? Who is the person that really needs to read 'I've Seen a Lot of Famous People Naked and They've Got Nothing on You?'
Jake Steinfeld: I think this book is for anybody who is in a job that they hate. I think this is for anybody who's been 'downsized.' I think this is for anybody who feels that they're sitting in an office today where they're smarter than their boss. I think this is for anybody whose got a dream and says to themselves, 'I just don't know how to get this business started.' This book is for you, and you absolutely will succeed with it. The book really is for all of the above, and anybody who wants to feel good about themselves. The last thing you want as a street-smart entrepreneur is to wake up when you're 50 or 60 or 70 and look in the mirror and say to yourself, 'At 25 I had a business idea. At 35 I had an opportunity. At 45 there was a moment. And I didn't take advantage of it.' That's what ends up killing you.
