Seminar Idea

I am getting the urge to put together an entrepreneurial seminar. This would be either a one or two day lecture program for people who want to start their own business or wish to improve their existing business.

I am still working out the details, but I have a general idea of what I want to do. First, it would be held in the theater. I have great conference space for large and small groups. It would have to be classy, which means actual course materials, take home spreadsheet templates and lunch provided.

The seminar would cover as much real content as I could come up with. This is in contrast to the "Wealth" seminars that have a bunch of big name speakers and even more low level speakers who want to sell your their DVDs. Most of the content coming out of those programs is useless hype. I want my seminar to contain specific, useful information.

Of course, I need to figure out how much to charge for the program.

Concession Menu Boards

Since opening Zeus, I have been really unhappy with my concession menus. Yes, I did put in six 42" screens. They are lined up and mounted at the right height. (Getting them at the right height had more to do with luck than skill. I just guessed at the height.)

I started out with a text board and ran everything on powerpoint. The menus are on two screens and repeated 3 times. Yes, the menus were easy to read, but they lacked that certain kick that would make them interesting. I had changed the backgrounds to something with columns, but it still didn't work.

So over the past couple of days, I have been taking pictures of all my menu items and reworking the menus. Here is the the end result:

Quality Sells

Since opening Zeus Digital Theaters last October, I have been put to the test on my beliefs that quality sells. When I designed the theater, I made the leg room of every seat to be 12" greater than any other theater in the area. In addition, I put in stadium seating, rocker leather chairs, a great sound and projection system and expensive carpet.

The carpet, in my mind is the most important feature of the lobby. It isn't the huge columns or even the nice furniture. The carpet is something that you see and feel constantly. If the carpet isn't clean, you will notice it. Heaven forbid the carpet is sticky (which can happen in a theater).

A huge portion of my quality proposal to my guests actually is in the carpet. So it is no wonder that I will spend better than $15,000 this year in cleaning and maintenance on the carpet.

Another big part of our quality is the bathrooms. A smelly bathroom, regardless of how clean it is can kill your theater. A dirty bathroom that doesn't stink is just as bad. Some national chains get their baths cleaned every night by an outside crew. I have my regular staff clean the baths every 30 minutes. It makes all the difference.

Finally, the concept that quality sells is shown in how a nice theater performs, even at a higher ticket price, compared to a run down theater. We have a theater nearby that charges $7 for every show. We run our prices at $8-$13 with the average ticket price just below $10. So if the price was "elastic", then a lower price should mean greater attendance. Right? Wrong! Our theater does anywhere from 20-30 times the revenue of the lower priced theater. Price is not everything. Quality is what really matters.

The challenge is keeping the quality up. That means constant maintenance and improvement. Painters should touch up every 6 months. Carpets get professionally scrubbed every 90 days. Broken seats are fixed immediately.

To steal the old tag line: Quality is Job One!

My List of Business Startups

It's no secret that the economy is in tough shape. Locally, we enjoy a 6% unemployment rate, which compared to the national rate of 9.1% is pretty good. However, the fact remains that opportunity is hard to come by today.

Of course, everyone would love to have some big company roll in and put in a shiny new manufacturing plant which would employ thousands of people at a livable wage. However, the odds of that happening are slim to none. Real job growth will have to come from the little start-ups. I would rather have 100 companies start up that employ 10 people each over 1 company that employs 1,000 people.

Of course, not everyone is suited to go out and start up a dot-com or other tech company. Access to capital, knowledge of the technology and realistic chances of success push those types of businesses into the realm of impossible for most of us.

Instead, I say there are real needs in the local market that could be satisfied by someone who just puts one foot in front of the other. Below are my favorite first-time startup businesses with the estimated investment required. Feel free to use them all you wish.

Under $500 Investment
Pressure Washing 

Go buy a nice pressure washer, print up some good looking fliers and business cards, then hit the street. Look for the houses that face the South. That means their back decks face the North. What happens when you have wood that never gets direct sunlight? That's right! Mold and mildew. People are more than happy to pay someone a reasonable rate ($100-$200) so they don't have to deal with it.

Under $1,000 Investment
E-Bay Consignment Store

I am a pretty tech savy guy, but I hate selling stuff on E-Bay. In fact, I have a whole bunch of stuff I would happily sell if it weren't for the hassle. To sell on E-Bay, you need an account with E-Bay and an account with Pay-Pal. You need to take lots of pictures and write up the description. You then need to answer questions from buyers, watch the bidding, collect them money and ship the product. That's too much for most people to go through.

However, if someone would get off their butt and provide this as a service, they would do well. The secret is to make it easy. That means pickup service for the seller. Full service on getting the thing sold, shipped and paid for. Once the sale is done, you simply collect your fee and send the remaining amount to the seller. Do a good job and they will open up more stuff for you to sell. There is no need for a storefront since you would be picking the stuff up. Eventually, you might add a store front or better yet, set up a drop off location at the local UPS Store.

Under $500 
Lunch Delivery Service

I work long hours and often forget to eat. Wouldn't it be great if I had a website I could pop onto that had the menu's of all the restaurants in the area where I could select what I wanted and have it delivered to me? Simple business idea. You charge a fee for delivery, collect tips and build from there. The secret is to treat each of your clients like they are staying at the Four Seasons. That means getting them to accept your text messages with simple decisions such as "Good Morning Mr. Hayes, would you like Chinese or your usual Mexican lunch today?"

Under $500
Personal Servant

I know this sounds like a crap job, but hear me out. In everyone community there are people who are too busy to handle the little things. These people would love to have someone run errands for them, but don't have  enough work to keep a full time assistant occupied. Plus they don't want to have to deal with all the hassle involved in hiring someone.

Along you come with a cool service: Personal Servant. You or one of your employees would be available to take the car to get the oil changed, pick up the dry cleaning, shop for groceries, or whatever is needed. You would be paid and tipped according to an hourly rate. Even if this remains just you doing it, it sure beats sitting around waiting to find a job or working fast food.

To get started, you would simply need a nice looking polo shirt with your logo, a box of business cards, and some fliers. Hit the street and find some clients who would fit your profile. They are out there and would be more than happy to hand off the mundane items to you.

I know, these business ideas sound like a job. They are just that. That's the whole idea. You need to start with something that doesn't take a huge amount of money. If you treat these like real businesses with good record keeping, marketing, operational improvements, etc. you will quickly find them growing into something more.

One of my earliest businesses was just me doing desktop publishing for other people such as the PennySaver and others. The benefit is that I eventually had several clients. The more clients you have, the more secure your income stream. Face it, the normal job is not very secure.

Blog Back Up & Running

I am finally getting my blog back up and running again.

Since we last spoke, I have completely changed around my businesses. First, I shut down Black Bear Title. It made sense give the crappy housing environment. It fell into the "don't try to go against the current unless you are a salmon" rule.

Then I sold RentQuick. RentQuick had been my baby since I opened it in 1998. However, my focus was shifting to Zeus Digital Theaters and I knew I would not have much time for RentQuick anymore. This one fell under the "you can only stare at one thing at a time" rule.

So now I have Zeus up and running. We just had a great summer. July was way above my target numbers and we are hitting on all cylinders. We had a run of big block buster movies that brought out all kinds of new guests. I am still tweaking the business a little, but I expect it to be fairly stable going into next year and beyond. Not too bad for a startup in the middle of a global financial meltdown.

That brings us up to date pretty well.

The Need for Focus

As my regular readers (all 3 of them) know, I have a few businesses. Over the past 6 months, since opening Zeus Digital Theaters, I have been working crazy hours. My day starts around 8 or 9 and I get home sometimes after midnight. Most of that time is spent in the theater working on details, details, details. When I opened Zeus last October, I had Hayes Investments, DeWitt Crossing, BlackBear Title and RentQuick.com on my plate.

In November, I shuttered BlackBear Title since I knew I wouldn't be able to "push a rope uphill" in the current housing market. Just last week I sold RentQuick.com, a company I started 13 years ago. RentQuick needs a full time owner and I could not longer spend proper amount of time on it.

So as of right now, I have Zeus, Hayes Investments and DeWitt Crossing left. This feels about right.

Once you start one business, you find it easy to start another. Some businesses grow by expanding their market. However, as an entrepreneur, there is an urge to create new businesses to diversify the income streams. So after a few years, many active entrepreneurs end up with a group of small businesses. I am here to tell you that, for me, is the wrong approach.

To be successful, you must have focus. With multiple businesses, you cannot be focussed. There just aren't enough hours in the day. Also, as we age, we lose some of the vigor we all have when we are young. I don't consider this slowing down. Instead, I see it as expanding in a single direction.

The Finest Man I Ever Knew

On Saturday, we buried my Father-in-Law, James R. Jewett. He was just shy of 80 years old. He was a farmer all his life. He has a 400-acre farm in Madison County, Virginia where he grew corn, soybeans, and barley. For decades he also had dairy cows.

Saturday was both a difficult day and a wonderful day. I had known him for 22 years and considered him a friend and mentor. When he would visit, he and I would ride around in my truck and look at various projects I had going on. He was always supportive.

After all the guests had left and just the family remained, I marveled at the bonds and quality of the family he left behind. We were happy to report that of all his kids and grandchildren, there was not a single black sheep. In fact, they are all excellent people. I am honored to be a part of the family.

The most poignant moment was during the service when the Reverend stated that Jim Jewett was "the finest man I ever knew". Not many people can honestly have that said about them. He was in fact the finest man any of us ever knew.

The very best part of the whole thing is that he was buried on his farm that he loved. To make matters even better, it looks as if his son and grandson will continue to farm the land and keep it whole.

I will miss Jim Jewett terribly. He was the finest man I ever knew.

My Unfounded Economic Predictions

As I watch all the "experts" predict everything from the price of oil to the growth of the economy, I am reminded of how often they are wrong. In June, 2008, the experts predicted that oil was going to hit $200/barrel. Six months later it was around $35. In 2001, the experts predicted the Dow Jones Industrials to hit 20,000. It is still in the11k to 12k range today.

As it turns out, you don't have to be right to make predictions. In fact, you can just blurt out some outrageous statement in the hopes that it will turn out that way and you will be hailed at a seer. So in my hopes of meeting Oprah (and her subsequently buying me a car), I thought I would make some wild predictions as well. It is important to put these things down in writing so there is proof that I made the prediction beforehand. Then if it comes true, I can hit pay-dirt.

1. China will have a civil war and drop back behind Japan in terms of GDP.
2. Osama Bin Laden will be found hiding in a Super 8 in Ohio watching pay-per-view wrestling.
3. The price of gold will drop below $1,000/oz. as the economy recovers.
4. Upon the death of Fidel Castro, a huge influx of American investments will turn the country into a Caribbean Vegas.
5. The next bubble will be in apartment construction.
6. 3D Televisions will not sell well. In 2013, they will cease to make them.
7. Apple Computer will buy Microsoft.
8. Microsoft will accidentally buy a part of itself that it already owns.
9. Out of the Middle East turmoil, a true leader will emerge who focuses on ending hunger and suffering of his people.
10. We will find a path to cold fusion which will change the political dynamics of the world much the same way that finding oil in the Saudi Desert did 70 years ago.

If I Were To Write A Book

First, I don't presume to be able to write a book. I don't have the dedication to finish a writing project of that size. Furthermore, I am not so full of myself that I would think that in writing a business book, anyone would want to read it. Of the thousands of business books written each year, only a few are worthwhile. There is a reason for that: business books are dull.

To do a good business book you almost have to make it a simple story such as Who Moved My Cheese or something like that. Most business books sit unsold in warehouses.

However, if I were to write a business book, I would say the following:

1. Entrepreneurship is not something you can just pickup when you are laid off. You need to prepare for years to get it right. Many think the road to riches lies with their first business. It doesn't with the exception of a just a few businesses, it isn't until the 2nd or 3rd do you actually make money. Just because you did well as a manager in a big company, doesn't mean you have the tools to start up a small business.

2. The ability to raise capital is huge. If you cannot raise debt or equity financing, you will starve for cash quickly.

3. If you cannot sell, you shouldn't try to be an entrepreneur. Selling helps with raising capital, getting customers, hiring good employees, and leading others. I would put selling at the top of the list for a startup business. Of all my businesses, the biggest issue has always been revenue growth. Handling costs, employees, government red tape or even product delivery is easy by comparison.

4. Whatever your business plan says, you are wrong. I have yet to see a business plan be right. Period. Costs are always higher and revenues are always lower. Never trust what your numbers are until they are real.

5. Listen to others, but believe in yourself. You will hear every expert in the world tell you that you can or cannot do something. Of course, they are nowhere  to be found when the chips are down. Listen to them and add it to your base of knowledge, but ultimately you need to depend on yourself and what you believe. Don't let them talk you into or out of doing something.

6. Nothing pays off like hard work. If you think that owning your own business involves a lot of free time and traveling, think again. You will need to do more work for less pay than any of your employees, at least at the beginning. After the business is successful, you will have plenty of time for relaxing. But don't go into this thing thinking you can have weekends and evenings off.

7. Once  you get the business running right, your next job will be to get yourself out of the day-to-day business. If you are stuck in the day to day running of the business one year after starting, then you aren't doing your job right. Ultimately, you should be replaced by employees.

8. Finally, once you are successful, you should stay paranoid. Success breeds complacency. Staying paranoid keeps you sharp and increases your energy.

Supporting The People of Egypt

The events over the past couple of days in Egypt create a huge problem for the United States. The Obama Administration wants to be able to come out for the will of the people against a dictator, but at the same time want to support that dictator because it benefits the US in their efforts on the Middle East Peace Process with regard to Israel.

So what to do? We want to support freedom and democracy. But what happens when that democracy results in an Islamic Republic (such as Iran) or an anti-Israeli government such as Hamas in occupied Palestine? The simple fact is that the will of the people does not always result in a pro-American government.

Personally, I think we should stay out of it and allow the chips to fall where they may. We made mistakes with Iran in the 70's that haunt us today. Our support for the Shah of Iran resulted in the takeover of the US Embassy and to a lesser extent the rise of Iraq and the Iran/Iraq war.

Possible outcomes may result in coming to arms over the Suez Canal or even an eventual shooting war between Israel and her neighbors. Of course, those are worst case scenarios. Hopefully, a moderate government will emerge from Egypt. Only time will tell.

Finally something to talk about

This past week, the Chinese President visited the White House for a state dinner. It has brought up understandable concerns over the rise of China and what that means for the US.

It is estimated that by 2025 or 2030, China will overtake the United States as the largest economy in the world. The US surpassed Great Britain in 1877 as the largest country in the world. Ever since, the foam finger industry has been going strong making "We're Number 1" foam fingers. America has enjoyed a long run as the strongest and richest country in the world. Losing that number one spot will be tough to our national psyche, however, we should actually start to question what we have done to earn that number one spot.

We American's have been riding the wave of previous successes for a while. The real question should be, "What have we done lately?"

There is no doubt that China is hungry and ambitious. But just how ambitious are we as a nation? Most of what we do now is respond to problems. No longer are we racing to the moon, learning to fly, creating new inventions, or building the big dams. It doesn't mean we are dumber than our ancestors. It does mean we are not as ambitious as they were. Our hunger has been calmed by plenty of food, loads of leisure and comfort. We don't take the risks we once did largely because we have so much to lose or we have too much stuff already and don't need to go higher.

I was visited by a man this week who wants to build his own business. He is about 40 and makes good money working for someone else. After a very long talk, I realized he won't actually follow his dream because he is comfortable now. He won't take a risk for something bigger because what he has now is good enough.

Multiply that across an entire generation and you will see why we Americans have a problem. In order to grow as a country, we must take risk. But individuals don't need or want to take that risk for the possibility of something big.

The missing element is ambition. You cannot teach it. Either you hunger to achieve something or you don't. It is tough to act hungry when your belly is already full. I don't know what the answer is to this dilemma. Of course, we will all point the finger at someone else for America's decline in the world. Luckily, there will be a huge supply of foam fingers to fill the demand.

The Calm After The Storm

Over the past 18 months, I have been completely engaged in the construction and now running of Zeus Digital Theaters. My previous posts about the project have given a little insight into what I went through in order to get the project done. However, now that is over with, it is time for me to start paying attention to the rest of the world around me and where I think things are going on a medium-macro level in the mid term.

First, I think this part of Virginia has seen the worst of the recession. Nationwide, unemployment is rising still (latest is 9.8%, but that will be adjusted as it always is.) Much of the increases are from the economy not creating enough jobs to both feed the supply of new entrants and re-employ previously unemployed workers.

I believe a part of the sluggishness in employment growth is tied to Corporate America's resistance to new investments in new bricks and mortar locations is a tie over from the down turn where companies increased their operating profits by cutting costs (employees). All the blood is gone from that turnip. Now, the only way to increase profits is to either make some miraculous increase in productivity or to invest in new market growth in order to increase revenue.

So I do predict that corporate investment activity will increase in the next year. Of course, some of that cash sitting on their balances sheets will and should go to either stock buy-backs or to dividends. However, neither will increase revenues which is needed to increase profits. As a result, investment into market growth will happen this year. It has to. None of the executives want to be the guy sitting on the sideline with a pile of cash while their competitors gobble up market share. Once one moves, the others will follow.

Once the investment starts, we should see a jump in construction spending and related jobs. Once we start to see job growth again, then the Fed will start to un-wind all the liquidity programs, long term bond purchases and ultimately the Fed Funds Rate will rise. Once that happens, order will be restored to the universe. Of course, once interest rates rise, growth should slow a bit, but the dollar will strengthen as money flows into the US economy for debt investment.

Simple right? Publish Post

So the key right now to getting job growth is in the hands of the big corporations. They need to invest some of that cash to grow their revenues. That will in turn spur hiring, etc. etc.

The Trouble with Mixing Economics and Politics

Last night 60 Minutes ran an interview with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who seems to have requested the interview to straighten up some of the misunderstandings concerning the Federal Reserve's QE2 program.

The QE2, (Quantitative Easing 2) program is a plan for the Fed to buy $600 Billion in treasuries in order to push down long term rates which help lower the cost of mortgages which would help with the housing crisis.

Of course, the general problem is that people think that the Fed is printing $600 Billion in order to push long term rates down. This is false. The Fed is just buying 10 and 30 year t-bills in order to push long term rates down. The money supply is staying the same. People further believe that this will cause hyper inflation. This too is false since we are close to deflation and the Fed has so many tools available to slow inflation if it should show up.

The underlying issue is a push by some politicians to rein in the Fed and bring it under the control of Congress. However, like all modern economies, an independent central bank is absolutely necessary. Otherwise, we would have the same silliness going on in our monetary policy as is in our fiscal policy.

Back in 2008, during the meltdown of the world economy, you saw the real limits of the political understanding of macroeconomics. They didn't understand the banking crisis, nor the Fed's response to it. They didn't truly understand TARP. They still don't understand most of the tax policy that they actually wrote.

Nothing could be more dangerous than to have the power of the Fed subject to the ebbs and flows of political  favor. The Fed is charged with keeping inflation in check and maintaining full employment. Most people in know, accept that there are few tools available to the Fed to keep us at full employment. They cannot affect demand or supply. All they can do is affect the money supply and to some extent the interest rates which impacts economic activity through the cost of financing growth and investment.

The actual growth and investment must start with a market in need of a product or service. Interest rates could be negative, but without demand for goods and services, there will be no growth. (example: Japan).

Economics can be hard to understand. Yet, it is understandable with a little effort. Those who drive public opinion would do well to understand the subject before pushing an agenda. Leave politics out of monetary policy.

Long Time, No Update

I ran into an old friend who reminded me it has been a very long time since I blogged. This happens from time to time as I get too busy to eat, sleep or blog.

So over the past year, I have been focussed on designing, building and now operating the new Zeus Digital Theater in Waynesboro. This has been a very interesting, exhausting, stimulating, challenging and rewarding year.
Over the past year, I have pretty much worked every day 10-18 hours. I have learned a great deal and hopefully implemented those insights into running the theater.

Of course, the financing was tough from the beginning. Trying to finance a huge project like this during the worst economic downturn in the past 80 years was tough. I was able to pull it off by building on that "loyalty banking" I have written about before. Banks don't lend money to projects, they lend to people. Your reputation for success will either hurt or help you in this endeavor. I like to think that my past performance helped, but also my past loyalty toward my banker played a part.

The construction phase was fantastic. Yes, there were challenges and setbacks, but we brought the project in close to budget and on time. Jon Sweringen was great to work with as the GC. I have to admit, building this huge theater was alot of fun.

Since opening on October 8th, I have been putting together processes, systems and controls to make sure my vision actually exists. I can't say it has been easy, but nothing worth doing ever is. 

I am still a little new to the complainers. Most guests are fantastic, but there are just a few that ruin my day. For these people, I have a hard time not reverting to my old Marine days. I will say that generally, people are reasonable and polite. We won't get everything perfect and they understand. Those that complain the loudest usually have never done anything difficult in their lives, but expect perfection in others. 

So here we are, 8 weeks after opening the new theater. I am still working to tighten up my staff and what they do from hour to hour. However, I am very pleased with the project and the business. Waynesboro and the surrounding communities have been very welcoming. I am now waiting for a restaurant to go in front of the theater, which will make the site a real entertainment destination. 

Zeus Theaters Opens

Wow, I  have been pretty busy. We are now 9 days after the opening of the theater and things are starting to fall into place. Over the past year, I have been working full time on planning, financing, building and now operating the new Zeus in Waynesboro. I can honestly say that I have never worked so hard in all my life.

Looking back on the construction, things went pretty well. My GC, Jon Sweringen was fantastic to work with. He kept me sane during a hectic schedule. We had shot for an opening on October 1st but ended up hitting October 8th. The punch list is short and the building looks great.

I would like to point out that there were plenty of the "old guard" and so called experts who happily predicted our failure. They were wrong on all accounts. Jon and I brought the building in pretty close to a tight budget and timeline. I doubt any of the old money builders could have done better. So there.

On the theater, it looks great. The lobby has a sense of community. It really feels like a fancy hotel lobby. We now have leather seating in the lobby. I have met many people who enjoy just sitting in the lobby and talking.

The theaters are fantastic. Seating is great. Sound is great. Not too much bleed from one theater to another on the noise. The HVAC is working well.

We still haven't hit full capacity yet. This week will be a real test. We are running Paranormal Activity 1 and 2 on Thursday/Friday Midnight showing. I expect to run two screens full for that one show.

The retail store is doing fine. Christmas will be the big rush I think. The party room will get going this week. Groups and fund raising start this week as well.

So far, everything is going according to plan.

The best part is when people ask me what chain Zeus belongs to. I love pointing out that this is the only one. Normally, they are shocked to hear that a single entrepreneur can just make up a brand, finance it, build it and run it all by himself. We have go to stop saying that the American Dream is dead. It isn't. The dream is there for those who are willing to risk everything they have and to work 100+ hours a week.

What Happened to the Entrepreneurs?

During every past American Recession, the recovery was always led by the return of the entrepreneur. People would move from the large companies and jump into their own startup which would fuel the next expansion. However, there doesn't seem to be a resurgence of the start-up during this recovery.

Now, this may be because this recession was pretty bad or it may be due to a lack of demand for new services which startups would find. I think it has to do with the lack capital available to the entrepreneurs. In the past, they would get a business started by running up credit cards or pulling cash out of their home with a second mortgage. However, across the nation, housing prices have dropped about 30%, which would be enough to wipe out most 30-something's equity. Add that to the tight lending environment, and you kill off new business startups.

In some cases, there will be startups funded by a third party. For instance, where people get tired of watching their stocks portfolios drops or of getting 1% on CDs, they might lend it or invest in someone's startup. But this cuts out the first-time entrepreneurs since they are not likely to get private funding without a track record.

The fix on this would be an expanded and simplified lending system for startups. The SBA has some programs out there, but they are slow and difficult to get going. A better method might be to bring back the business plan competitions of the 90's.

The Limits of Social Networking

As a practical matter, I have been using facebook to both build buzz and gain market knowledge for my new Zeus Digital Theater project. I started the facebook page in November at the behest of my 15 year old son, John.

John was right that it would be a good way to reach out to the theater's main demographic, teenagers. With the facebook page, I have been able to get teen boosters talking about the new theater which should open October 1st this year. In addition, I have been able to gain significant insights into how people viewed the new theater, what they expected from it and what they disliked about the competition.

While the Facebook page works for the market analysis and the buzz building, it fails in the traditional "call to action" marketing. If I put up some call to action on the page, I do get some response. However, without a strong reward (such as a t-shirt give away), it does not register as high as one would expect from "fans".

As a result, I believe the theater will need to use a reward based call to action system that is based upon email and text messages instead. You see, with facebook, fans see a stream of updates on their wall. If you post something on the Zeus page, it is posted by date (default) which means that if the fan has lots of other activity after my post, then my post will be buried way down their wall. If the fan only gets on their page once or twice a week, then they don't see it at all. In other words, Facebook has lots and lots of noise. Noise, as any marketer knows, is the enemy of messages.

So while Facebook gets lots of press, it is only one tool in the arsenal of the modern marketing package. And just like any marketing message of the past, a call to action must have some time related benefit to the consumer. Otherwise, it is just noise.

A Little Discussion on Planning

Over the past 8 months, I have been involved in the planning of my new theater. Unlike my other businesses where I could make adjustments and investments as I went along, the theater requires that all the investment and planning take place at the beginning.

For instance, I started RentQuick out of my basement in 1998 with $3,000 worth of investment. As I went along, I would use income to buy new equipment which I would then rent. There were times when I had orders for rentals and did not have any equipment. So I simply bought a projector or two on a credit card, had it shipped to the location of the rental, then figured out a way to get it back to me.

The theater project is completely different. With Zeus Digital Theaters, I need to build the theater, put in every single seat, then run it. Once it is open, it will be very difficult to make major changes since the theater is open every day. Yes, even Christmas!

So now the pressure is on to not only make all the investments from the start, but to get it all right. It is a fine line between what I can afford to put in and what I want to put in. The sign is a great example. Would I like to put in the mac-daddy of all signs on the street? Sure! Can I afford it on my budget? Nope. So I have been spending the past couple of days trying to come up with a workable solution.

Where the investment affects the quality of the experience to the visitor is where I put the money. As a result, we have nice carpeting, great projectors, fantastic sound, top-end seating.

Of course, there will be some things I can change after the theater is open. I am really interested in getting the thing put together as nice as I can with what I have available.

As I have said, my first theater is likely to be a Chevy, not a Cadillac.

Old Friends and How Much We Change

I just got off the phone with an old friend, Pete, whom I had not spoken with in a very long time. Pete and I worked together in the mid-Nineties at Framatome selling computers in the lead up to Y2K and the internet boom. At the time, I was still in my 20's and a little bit of a hard-ass. Pete always seemed wiser and calmer.

As a result of my more "offensive and aggressive" personality traits, I moved out of the corporate world. At the same time, Pete flourished in it. Like water, we each seemed to find our own level.

The interesting thing about our talk is just how much I had changed. Pete still seems calm and wise. When I was in my 20's, I had just come off of 6 years in the Marines. That tends to have an impact on one's attitude. However, even the Marines thought I lacked tact. Although, my definition of tact and their's was very different. I thought I was being honest. Whereas, all my military superiors thought I was a wise-ass.

Over the past 14 years, since Pete and I worked together, I realize that I have calmed down a good bit. Politically, I have changed drastically. I read more now than ever. I don't blow my top like I used to.

To find a point in my latest ramble is difficult. I guess we all grow up at different rates. While I am sure I still have a good bit of growing up left to do, I don't think I am as bad as I used to be.

Oh, the other point is it's great to talk to old friends. They are like book marks that show you where you were and how far you have come.

Zeus Update: April 12, 2010

Right now the theater construction is finally moving along. We are about half way through the footer stage, and expect the outside walls to be up by mid-May. I am still shooting for an October 1, 2010 opening night. Much of that will require the contractors to work 6 days a week, but I keep telling them to make hay while the sun shines.

The process thus far has been smooth. That isn't to say that there haven't been surprises, though. Whenever you deal with dirt, there are always surprises. Sometimes you hit rock. Sometimes you hit mush. The only way to be sure is to core drill the entire site, but that gets pretty expensive too. I figure at some point, I am going to buy a core drill machine and just drill holes in my spare time.

The weather has finally turned nice. Once we get through the next two weeks, the weather won't affect us too much.