March 29 2023
When to and What for: A Business Proposition.
Chapter 1: Where is the Good Stuff?
The reason I write is in an attempt to answer this 5 year-old’s question:
“How do we find the good stuff?”
Similar questions, including “How do we get (acquire) the good stuff?” and “How do we make (build) the good stuff?” and “How do we give (provide) the good stuff” were not lost to follow-up.
A 5 year-old with 99 cents in her pocket, mind you.
Their answers also lie in the depths of their being.
The purpose, or nia (Swahili), is to help fill the gap, help build the bridge, and ultimately, help solve the good stuff problem. Moreover, Josie’s ONE thing, JayCee HaLLows, The Back Road to Quon., and The countermeasure, are a means for communication, and the tools to showcase those ends.
As I took on this arduous labor of love, I started to learn more about myself, about the way I interact with others, about the way others interact with me, and about the way we all interact with the Hello World.
There’s a lot of stuff out there to wade through. There’s emails, newspapers, books, and magazines. There’s video, images, and audio. You have people making recommendations about this and that. You have those that claim to be experts, those that claim to influence the experts, and those that choose to end their sentences with Hello World.
Where is the stuff that you think will be informative and credible? Where is the stuff that will be well made or well done? Where is the stuff that looks really nice, the stuff that you fall in love with right at the beginning. What makes you think or say, ” I really like that shirt” or “I really like the message that’s on the front of that sweatshirt”.
How do you find the stuff that resonates with you. How do you know what resonates with someone else? I’ve always said (and thought) that the good stuff must have that one thing, that something; the something that drives the appeal.
So, what is that one thing?
Well, I’d be remiss to (first) not add in a disclaimer. So, by no means, am I suggesting there’s a right way for everyone. However, there are a few criteria that, when met, go beyond the “buy in” and they seem to get the “try in” and the “why in”. I am fortunate enough to be well versed in Gladwell and Godin and Manson.
So, the one thing is something that makes you feel good about yourself or another person. It might be the beauty, the function, the suitability, the structure. It’s color, shape, or size. It might be something you can stand behind, beside or in front of.
Importantly, that one thing should solve a problem, fill a need, close a gap, or span a void. Stuff for the sake of stuff is something that very few seem to care for any longer, or perhaps they never really did. Instead, the good stuff is the specific stuff – it’s the stuff tied to an experience, an emotion, a goal, a deal, an achievement, the finish, or a happy ending. That’s the good stuff. That’s the one thing.
People always tell me: “Jenn, you love a lot of things. You think that a lot of things are interesting and beautiful”. I think they’re right. I make no apologies. My reactions are real. Genuine and authentic.
Some may argue that loving the masses diminishes the value, dilutes the effect. An impact akin to inflation. Whether the subject of the preceding sentence is presumed to be the “thing” or the love of thing, I’m not sure. My counter is this: usefulness, appreciation, love, logic, intention, drive, and respect are renewable resources. Administration, manufacturer and delivery is not finite. Let me qualify.
For the love et al.
The attributes or emotions should come without obligatory appeasement. With no motivation of malice. When we ask another’s opinion – whether that be before leaving the house [query: how do I look in this dress?], or as a part of our interaction with Intelligence, the speak-easy should be as the name implies. Something real and repeated in not redundant. It adds </em>.
So, back to the point. Even though I love a lot of things, here are the criteria that I think are characteristic of the good stuff.
- Well designed / made / manufactured / performed
- A sense of beauty / function / purpose / structure
- A story behind it, and the way, the will, and the want to tell that story.
What about in terms of the things that will form the foundation? Where is the good stuff then? The knowledge and skills that, when acquired, form something you can fall back on. The solid core. The system. The belief. The ideal. That which not only underpins but overarches. A just good business model. Perhaps if such a model were to exist, it may even transcend business.
So, I’ll make something up. There lies no problem. I’ll put myself out there. I present to you, a six-step approach to just good business. I would venture to say that, when employed, such a model would almost guarantee success. With success being measured in terms of profit. Yes, profit – what’s left at the end of the day after you’ve taken revenue into consideration and accounted for your expenses.
And there’s also equity.
The Just / Good Business Model.
- The right product | The right service
- The right customer | The right client
- The right method | channel of distribution or delivery
- The right cost | The right price
- The right way [ meaningful | engaging | timely | relevant ] so as to communicate your value [ and theirs ]
- The right mindset [ preparedness | anticipating both challenges and successes ]
So if we concede, even for a moment, that this model is correct in its ability to predict success, or provide success, the story continues.
How do you find any product or service, let alone the right one, let alone the good one.
I suppose the answer depends on the perspective, and whether you’re looking to create, or looking to consume. The model fits, however, irrespective of the perspective.
It’s been said before, but iteration is our friend. I hypothesize that the finest of invention, the idealist of innovation, the ones that end in the good stuff, start first from some sort of identifiable problem or need.
[ Query ]: <I don’t know how to find or make good stuff> If this is your problem statement, my suggestion is to try moving upstream a bit. Try an alternative in favor of the null. Try focusing on solving someone else’s problem. Focus on what someone else needs.
We live in a problem-laden world where people need things. You could even try starting with something that looks perfect. Refined. Then take a step back. Head to the vantage point a few steps removed from the “so-called” perfect outcome.
Otherwise, by simply watching the news, watching a Barista make coffee, or by watching a 5 year-old select their own outfit before their first day of kindergarten, you’ll see it. Then, action it. Build it, erect it, fashion it, forge it, or otherwise create it according to Steps 2-6 and behold. Inform, Enamour, Enlighten. Entertain. Employ. Enforce. Enact.
Then, turn the theoretical into something tangible, or tangible-like enough, so as to be helpful for a sufficient number of people. The number, the value, that lets you establish, grow, and sustain a business.
What happens if you come across a problem and a [possible] solution, but you don’t really know very much about the industry, the sector, the niche, or the market? Sometimes the solution to a complex problem has either an unusually simple answer (the trees through the forest), or the answer lies in another forest. The forest of the arts, the forest of the science.
The forest of humanity.
There’s lessons. There’s also class.