The Entrepreneurial U
by John R. Sedivy
When Amy and I started Cape Cod Branding we would chat about “The Entrepreneurial U.” With The Entrepreneurial U our thought was when we started our business motivation was very high – we were setting out to conquer the world. This lasts for some time maybe a month or two, maybe less – but it is a consistent feeling – this is the left side of the “U.” As more time passes and the realities of day-to-day life set in, things become more difficult. You may begin to doubt your choice, you may wonder if entrepreneurship is for you, or if you selected the right business. This is what we consider sliding down the left side of the “U.”
The bottom of the “U” is when you hit rock bottom. It may appear that you have zero to few customers, and the endeavor may not appear to be worthwhile. You may feel that you are about to hit the point of no return and there is still time and you could turn back. This is where self-doubt kicks in to full force and you seriously risk losing what you have ventured. The tough part of the bottom is that you never know when you are there – only in hindsight can one truly know.
But just as all seems lost – a glimmer of hope emerges!
Something hits! Just when you thought it was over, a customer or client comes calling and is interested in purchasing your product or service. This fuels the next leg of your business in terms of badly needed cash and motivation. Then another person or business is interested, and then another – thus begins the journey up the other side of the “U.” The “Entrepreneurial Switch” literally flips – a subject which I will discuss more in a future article.
The Dip
I had meant to write this article for some time, but procrastination got the better of me. In hindsight I am glad I held off on writing this article and here’s why.
I had just finished reading “The Dip” by Seth Godin which basically describes this concept perfectly. Seth Godin had thought of “The Dip” well before I had started my business and discussed the concept of “The Entrepreneurial U” with Amy. What was refreshing about coming across this was that others had experienced “The Dip” as well. Sometimes when you go through a difficult time it is easy to feel isolated. However the isolation is generally not real, but perceived – in reality many are likely going through the same thing, or have gone through it themselves.
A Great Read
Little did I know when I thought of our combined experience was that Seth Godin had written about this phenomenon in a broader sense and titled it “The Dip.” The Dip may apply to any situation or struggle you are having, starting a business, managing your corporate career, schooling, anything.
I am glad for having read “The Dip” – first and foremost because it is an exceptional read – I highly recommend it to anyone tackling a difficult challenge who needs encouragement and a method of self-evaluation. Second, if I would have posted this article without knowing about The Dip – I would have likely received comments from others about not having done my homework. I will write more about The Dip in future articles and our personal experiences related to this book.
After reading “The Dip” and prior to writing this article I had considered abandoning “The Entrepreneurial U” concept, however I have since changed my mind while writing this article. Although as I had previously mentioned “The Dip” does perfectly describe this occurrence – it is general in nature to apply to a wide variety of circumstances. I believe there is room for something more specific to describe the experience of the entrepreneur while using The Dip as a foundation.
Are you an entrepreneur who is currently going through a Dip? Have you gone through one in the past and emerged successfully? I would be interested in your story in the form of comments! Also, drop us a comment because we will be sending one of our lucky readers their very own copy of “The Dip!” Winner will be randomly chosen on August 22, 2009 at 8:00 PM EST from the comments received on this article, so be sure to get your comment in before then!
Time’s Up! Lucky us, we didn’t even need a random picker since we only had one comment. 
Congrats to John, we’ll be sending him his very own copy of The Dip.
-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding
Fleeced Book Review
by John R. Sedivy
I became interested in “Fleeced” for two reasons – first I had read “Catastrophe” by the same authors and really enjoyed it. Second, when I had purchased “Catastrophe” at Barnes and Noble, the woman assisting me with the purchase recommended “Fleeced” as she had read it and just purchased it for her father. This made me strangely intrigued – upon purchasing one book I was getting a recommendation for the previous work – I had to check it out.
The easiest way to provide a description of what this book is about is to provide the whole title: “Fleeced: How Barack Obama, Media Mockery of Terrorist Threats, Liberals Who Want To Kill Talk Radio, The Self-Serving Congress, Companies That Help Iran, And Washington Lobbyists For Foreign Governments Are Scanning Us…And What To Do About It.” The title pretty much sums it up. The authors, Dick Morris & Eileen McGann argue that at every turn we are being fleeced and that we need to take action to stop this. The book serves as a whistle-blower of sorts with an “action agenda” outlined for each instance of fleecing. Those who have read “Catastrophe” will be familiar with the format.
Highlights
Here are what I consider to be the top three strengths of “Fleeced:”
1. Bipartisan
2. Strong research
3. Rational but humorous tone
It may seem strange that I am calling this book bipartisan given the title of this book. However, this is one of the most bipartisan books I have read. Although it is true that the authors attack the liberal viewpoint they do not hold back on pointing out conservative wrongdoings. Given that the original published date of this book was June 2008 – the author points out flaws in both the approaches of then President George W. Bush, and what could occur if Barack Obama took office – at times with crystal ball accuracy. I found this to be a unique aspect when compared to other political books.
As with “Catastrophe” I enjoyed the extensive research that went into making this book. The authors provide plenty of examples – actually more than you may care for. To me this adds credibility to the work and provides plenty of places to search or for follow-on reading should you be interested.
Lastly, I really enjoyed the tone of “Fleeced” – it’s a combination of intellectual with a bit of sarcasm. The rational tone again added credibility as the authors explore the issues thoroughly, but throw in a bit of sarcasm to keep things lively – actually, it’s pretty comical at times. One of my favorite examples of the tone of this book appears at the end:
“Cleaning up the government and policing private business can be a bit like trying to eradicate cockroaches. Every year or two a new generation appears, immune to last year’s preventative measures. It’s up to us to come up with new, improved ways to kill the bugs we can catch and keep the rest on the run.”
The authors argue not for big government or small government, but for a government that punishes those who harm it’s citizens and rewards those who better it’s citizens. Interesting food for thought, but packaged in a different way – this is the essence of “Fleeced.”
Drawbacks
Despite the strengths of “Fleeced” there are a couple of drawbacks. First, I found this book to be a bit sensational at times. I know that given the title, this should not come as a surprise – however it seemed much more so than “Catastrophe” which caught me off guard. Given that “Catastrophe” seemed to tone this down and focus on more of the rational aspects of the argument, I believe the authors are heading in the right direction.
Second, although the extensive research was a major strength of this book, I felt at times it detracted from the overall experience. I had listened to the audio book and sometimes it felt like the listed examples encompassed multiple tracks (they may have, however I am usually multi-tasking when I listen to these books). Perhaps some of this data would have been better placed in an appendix. There is a fine line between establishing credibility and boring your audience and at times I felt the authors crossed that line.
Closing Thoughts
I really enjoyed “Fleeced” and even though some of the material is dated, there is still value here for those who are interested – the strengths far outweigh the few minor weaknesses. With their research, Dick Morris and Eileen McGann do a great job bringing the misdeeds of politicians and private companies to the forefront, and if nothing else, this will further educate you as a voter, consumer, or investor. I consider myself fairly well informed, however, there were many instances where I was surprised by the information presented. Although I did find “Catastrophe” to be a better work, “Fleeced” is still a great read, I am moving to their previous work “Outraged” next.
If you enjoyed “Fleeced” you should also read “Catastrophe” by the same authors, and “Liberty and Tyranny” by Mark R. Levin.
-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding
How To Support Our Troops with AnySoldier.com
by Amy Stevens Adams
Last week I discovered a website called AnySoldier.com. It’s basically a site where our soldiers serving overseas can make requests for food and personal items that they need and want. You can search through the listings and get info like; what branch of the military they serve in, how many soldiers are in their unit (how many men, how many women), where they’re located, how long they expect to be there until returning home, what items they are requesting, and usually there is some personal info included in the listings as well. The way it works is one soldier from a unit will volunteer to be the contact person for AnySoldier and they collect the packages we send to them and distribute them to the soldiers in need or who don’t get packages or mail from home. The packages they get are addressed to them, “ATTN: Any Soldier”. I think this a great service as it boosts morale and helps keep our troops cared for.
It can be a bit confusing to send packages to our soldiers overseas, so I’ve broken down the process in simple steps. In this article I’ll tell you what I did, where I got my supplies, and how you can also send a care package.
First, my pictures….
Here’s the food I sent. Easy to cook in a microwave (which the troop I selected does have). They specifically requested beef jerky, EasyMac, Hot Sauce and individual drink mixes for water.
I Double-bagged the peanut butter and Hot Sauce in case they leaked.
Since it is too hot to send chocolate or candy, I picked up some Betty Crocker Warm Delights. They are simple to make in the microwave, just add water to their little single-serving plastic container and zap for 30 seconds. You get an instant chocolate cake. I knew the guys didn’t have measuring spoons so I put a little note on each box letting them know that 4 plastic spoonfuls of water is the equivalent of what the directions call for, although I’m sure they would have figured that out…
I bought 3 boxes of Propel drink mixes. I decided not to waste valuable room in the box by leaving them in their boxes, so I combined them all in a ziplock bag. I wanted to cram as much stuff as possible into my care package.
Here is my box (and customs form) from the Post Office BEFORE I stuffed it.
And here it is AFTER. Wow! 10 pounds!
Now for the steps;
1. Go to Anysoldier.com and read through the listings on this page. You can choose a specific branch of the military if you’d like. John and I chose to send a package to Marines since John served in the Marines himself. We selected a unit of 8 men who were primarily requesting food items. The post said that 2 of the men where from Massachusetts and that was one of our deciding factors in selecting them, as we have something in common. One of the most important things our troops want are letters from home. John and I each included a letter in with our care package and it made it easier to write because from their listing we knew we had several things in common with them.
2. Get the address. Once you’ve chosen a troop to send your care package to, you’ll need to email AnySoldier.com for the mailing address. This is a security measure as addresses are not publicized on the website. However, you will get it via email within 5 minutes. Don’t request an address until you’re really committed to sending a package so that a troop doesn’t get neglected.
3. Make a list of what you’re going to send and go shopping. Keep a few things in mind when sending your care package;
*Don’t mix food and toiletries in the same box. It could be a disaster if a can of shaving cream leaked all over the boxes of crackers!
*Try not to send items that could melt, like candy or chocolate. Your package could take 3-4 weeks to be delivered and when it is delivered remember that it’s HOT over there.
*Send foods that won’t spoil and are easy to store, cook and eat. Most listing requests on AnySoldier.com will tell you what their living conditions are. If they don’t have a microwave, then don’t send foods that need to be cooked (like EasyMac and Ramen Noodles). If they don’t have a can opener, don’t send canned goods unless they have a pop-top. It is easy to forget these things because we are accustomed to the comforts of our home where we have all the basics. The unit we selected said they didn’t have a can opener, so not only did I not send any canned goods, but I did send them a can opener. There is always a chance the can opener could get confiscated in customs though, so I didn’t want to assume they’d have one and send canned foods they couldn’t eat.
*Double bag any bottles or jars in heavyweight Ziplock bags. If it can leak, it probably will.
*Try to think of things that accompany the food you’re sending. Soldiers may not always think to ask for things like plastic utensils and plates.
4. Go to your local Post Office and ask for (free) FLAT RATE Priority Boxes, Labels and Customs forms. If you plan on sending care packages on a regular basis (like John and I do), then you can go to usps.com and order Priority Boxes to be shipped to your house (completely free of charge), so you’ll have them for the future. Very important, be sure to only use FLAT RATE boxes. You’ll see why in a bit. Also, Thanks to the US Post Office, boxes shipped to an APO or FPO address cost the same as domestic shipments. This will save you some bucks.
5. Gather your supplies. Make sure you have your priority Boxes form the P.O., plus Customs forms, Priority Labels (all free from the P.O.) packaging tape, a couple standard envelopes, a pen and paper to write a letter to enclose with your care package, ziplock bags, extra newspaper or shopping bags to pad the box, and your items to send.
6. Box up your food (or toiletries, whichever you’re sending). Pack everything in tight. Write a letter to send with it (if you’ve got kids helping you with this project have them draw some pictures to send too). Include a couple self-addressed envelopes, paper and pens so the soldiers can write back to you. You are much more likely to get a response if you include the self-addressed envelopes. Ask them if there’s anything else they need. Include your email address too. Put the letter, envelopes, paper and pens in a ziplock bag on the top of the food and close up the box. Seal it well with packaging tape.
7. Fill out the Customs form. This is simple. Just your address, their address, what is in the box and how many of each item. Ignore all the other fields. Then sign and date at the bottom.
8. Address the box. Using the free Priority Mail labels provided by the P.O., address your package made out to the Soldier’s name who will be the contact person, then under their name put “ATTN: Any Soldier”, and then the address that was emailed to you from AnySolider.com. If the package you are sending is specifically for female soldiers, then fill it out the same way, but put “ATTN: Any Female Soldier” after the contact person’s name.
9. Head to the P.O. and mail your care package! A Flat Rate Priority Box will cost $11.95, no matter how heavy it is. When we shipped ours it weighed 10 lbs 7 oz. The clerk in the P.O. said it would have cost $32 to ship if I hadn’t packaged it in the Flat rate box! Very important to use the Post Office’s FLAT RATE boxes!
10. Smile all the way home knowing you’ve made a difference to our troops.
Something I thought of after I’d shipped our first box, if the troop you pick says they have a microwave, then micro popcorn would be a great thing to send. It doesn’t take up as much room in the box as other crackers and chips and they can pop it to have a warm, salty snack. I’ll be sending some in my next box for sure.
That’s it! It’s easier than you think and if you shop the sales at your local market or target you can fill up a box for under $20 and make some soldiers very happy!
-Amy Stevens Adams of Cape Cod Branding
