Nearly two years ago, I met over coffee with a good friend to discuss some ideas he had for a few websites. He wanted to do one that would be an online resource focusing on the advancement of leadership theory (The LeaderLab). He also wanted to do his own blog (DavidBurkus.com).

At the time, I cautioned him about doing two websites. Although I thought it was possible, I knew it would be tough. He was just starting work on his doctorate and had a full time job. Adding in not just one, but two websites to the mix would be quite the task. He intended to update both regularly. I was interested to see what happened.

I recommended that he only do one site and focus on it. I explained the many benefits of only doing one site. By starting simple and focusing in on one blog you can write better quality content, build stronger followings on platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and learn how to manage a site so much quicker. You also run a much smaller risk of burning out.

While he didn’t take it then, yesterday he conceded that heeding my advice twenty four months ago would have been a wise decision. What ultimately happened is we both put in time and effort building both websites. After a few months, his own blog was a ghost town while LeaderLab was booming. He put all of his attention into building that website and before long was getting enormous amounts of traffic. Within the first year or so he broke the 10,000 follower mark on Twitter and has since broken the 25,000 followers mark! (LeaderLab Twitter)

My first recommendation to anyone who is looking to start a blog or a website is to start simple, keep it as clean and straightforward as possible, and get started as soon as possible.

Zach

]]> http://zachbunn.com/2011/12/16/want-25000-twitter-followers/feed/ 0 http://zachbunn.com/2011/07/09/why-do-you-work/ http://zachbunn.com/2011/07/09/why-do-you-work/#comments Sat, 09 Jul 2011 20:19:15 +0000 Zach http://zachbunn.com/?p=188 “It’s not about the money… It’s about sending a message…” – The Joker

There is something about our nature, or maybe it’s our culture, that makes us think that money is the motivating factor behind humans. For some (or maybe even many) this might be true. For me personally it has never been about the money. Sure, we all like to have money and most of us don’t mind having things.

But do you go to work five days a week so that you can have money?

While it might be why you are going to work, it’s not really the reason. The true reason you do anything is because in some way it is fulfilling. By going to work, you make money. You make money so that you can reasonably do X. For some, X could be having a family, a nice car and house, the ability to give generously, or maybe even the ability to start your own company.

It doesn’t matter what it is.

The reason isn’t the money. Money is a means to an end and that is it. And if money is the reason, to what end? Money in a bank account provides nothing more than a false sense of security that everything is taken care of.

If I remind myself why I’m ‘playing the game’ in the first place, it really doesn’t matter if I win or lose. The idea is that playing the game in and of itself is worth doing, regardless of the outcome. It is really impossible to lose. Once I do this, it helps me to better decide ‘why’ I play the game.

Why do you play the game?

Zach

The interrelation of theology, economics, and politics is something that I am vastly interested in. I have been concurrently reading various books that touch on those three topics with my brother, Daniel. We generally end each book with a long discussion and move on to the next one.

A few months ago we decided that we wanted to turn these discussions into a blog (Theokonomia). This blog isn’t going to be for the weak at heart or the closed minded. The blogs will be well thought out and often times lengthy and deep. Discussion will revolve around a particular book, as Daniel and I will write back and forth discussing various issues form our differing view points.

If you are interested in that sort of thing, we are putting this into blog format because we would love to get your take on things. We realize that there are far more than just our perspectives. I’ll continue to write from time to time here, but actively blogging on three sites keeps me pretty busy.

Cheers!
Zach

]]> http://zachbunn.com/2011/02/09/a-new-beginning-theokonomia/feed/ 0 http://zachbunn.com/2011/01/25/talking-tech/ http://zachbunn.com/2011/01/25/talking-tech/#comments Tue, 25 Jan 2011 21:21:44 +0000 Zach http://zachbunn.com/?p=159 Our devices can already hear us, record us, and see us… but when will they be able to talk to us?

I’m not even talking about having full blow conversations with my Xbox or TV, I just don’t get why I can’t sit on my couch and say, ”Vader… Turn On.” and get a simple response, ”Yes master.” in Darth Vader’s voice and my TV switches on with the sound of an igniting lightsaber.

I’m sure there are some really genius people out there who are already having similar experiences with their computers (as I think it’s possible), opening programs by saying, ‘Computer… Open Excel.’. I don’t want to have to go through some silly process to make this happen either. I’m sure we will be doing this on a regular basis soon.

I just can’t imagine that moving forward we won’t be actively dialoging with our devices. I mean… wouldn’t you rather just say, ‘Computer… Open file customer-report-december.xls’ instead of clicking on your search, typing in the name of the document, searching for it, and then opening it?

Zach

Anyways, went to Apple that day and they had a video of The Beatles first ever concert in America. I couldn’t help but notice this young man in the background who is sitting next to what appears to be his girlfriend or wife. As each song plays she is jumping around and screaming and it’s apparent that he doesn’t appreciate the fact that his girl is screaming for four other young men. In fact, he looks really upset that he has to sit there and endure the pain of being 10 feet from The Beatles as they preform.

While this could serve as just something funny to notice, I think there is something greater to be realized here. This was in the 1960’s. You know, before we landed on the moon, invented the personal computer, the Internet, email, search, texting, social networks… The point being, there are probably a few moments of this guys life captured for the rest of the world to see forever.

For us… there is probably data from just about every day of our life. Whether it’s a status update, a video, a blog, a twitpic, etc. Our kids… and our kids kids… will be able to see just about everything we do in life. Don’t be like this guy and be at one of the most important events of the century and look like you’re at the dentist. Enjoy life and realize the magnitude of what you experience everyday.

Zach

Instead of being inspired and writing about the things we found curious in business and in life, we were almost forcing ourselves to write. Instead of each having an in depth post weekly, we’ve decided to forget about schedules and rules for blogging and posts. Basically, if we have an idea or are inspired and have the time to write, we post a new blog. A lot of these blogs will be shorter in length and some will be long, but at the end of the day each is just a small look into how a few MBA students, college graduates, and entrepreneurs see business and life.

While I will continue to update the blog on my own site here, the majority of my blogs, thoughts, and ideas about business will be over on Business Over Coffee. Feel free to take a read and join in on the discussion.

Enjoy,
Zach

Earlier this week he launched Business Dean 2 Go. The blog is focused on strategic marketing thought and I can’t think about any one else more qualified to blog about the topic. At the time of this writing he has written five or six blogs and I expect this content to just keep flowing. If you are interested in winning in business and in life, I suggest that you stay tuned to this free source of information from an expert in the marketing and strategy.

Zach

The point of that is the fact that my very own mother wasn’t sure what exactly I could do or if I could help her friend. One of the very early steps of building a constant streams of referrals, or at least as described by John Jantsch, is making it clear to those who trust and love you what it is exactly that you do. After my most recent experience I wonder how many clients I’ve missed out on because my close friends and family members don’t know exactly what I’m capable of?

One primary example of someone who I think is doing a wonderful job of building a referable business is my brother John. He does professional videography (Redeemed Productions) along with some web and media. One thing he did very strongly when he first made the leap into doing his own business was touted exactly what he did to just about everyone he knew. I will never forget those first few months where at every family and social gathering he kept saying what he did. Any time someone mentioned that they knew a person getting married, graduating, etc. he was on top of making sure they were referring him. He always had cards, material, and info ready and things are really starting to pay off for him.

So for those who don’t know, I do web development (when I have time). You can check out my latest project for Lambert Homes or my previous work. I’m always interested in helping people out who are looking to enter the big bad world of the internet and have the tools to meet almost any need. I’d love to hear from you,

Zach

I sit here on the Tuesday after release and I have had an iPhone 4 since last Friday morning. I didn’t wait in line, not once. How is that possible! A little bit of nonchalantness, a little bit of luck, and a little bit of running. Here’s how I did it.

1. Don’t wait in line!

See that picture below? If you want to get an iPhone without waiting in line, this one is obvious. Although I must say my initial plan to get an iPhone was to go wait in a long line and I wouldn’t have minded it, things worked out pretty well in the end.

2. Go to Apple on release day

This is for a few reasons. For starters, you can look at that herd of hundreds of people who you would have been waiting in line with for hours and realize that your decision to sleep in and grab Starbucks on the way to Apple was the right choice. Another reason is that you can walk right past all of the people and get your hands on the product (in this case the iPhone 4).

3. Ask a Genius

Once you’ve played with the product for a few minutes, ask one of the Geniuses if they think they’ll have any the next morning? The response I got was, ‘Any that are reserved and not picked up will be available for sale’.

4. Show up the next morning

This is where most people (including myself) go astray. After reading countless articles saying how many iPhones Apple sold on release day, I thought there was no way they would have any left. The day after release I got a call from my brother John who was at the Apple store buying an iPhone… And he didn’t even wait in line! I immediately hopped into my car, drove to Apple (only a few minutes away), ran into the Mall and to the Apple store, walked up to a genius (named Jeff) and asked for two iPhones. He went to the back, brought them to me, set me up, and a few minutes later I was walking out of Apple as a happy owner of a brand new iPhone 4.

So, how did I get an iPhone 4 without waiting in line?

1. I didn’t wait in line
2. I went to Apple on release day (after a full night of rest)
3. I asked a genius if they would have any
4. I showed up the next morning

For those of you who already have an iPhone, congratulations! For those still waiting, it’s worth the wait. This phone is everything Steve said it was. It really does change everything… again.

Zach

I understand on a personal level that I am not ‘there’ yet. However every day I begin to appreciate the need for less a bit more and more. Over the past year or so I’ve read every piece of content that has come across Zen Habits and more recently have begun reading mnmlist. Leo’s posts are inspiring, thought-provoking, and challenging all in one.

During the past few years I have decided that it is better to be great at a few things than good at many. Over the past year specifically I have been intentionally shedding off roles, duties, and material objects to focus more heavily on the few things that I am truly passionate about and the few things that really provide a benefit to my life. Every day I am finding ways to eliminate the unnecessary.

Toms

Today I got a pair of Tom’s in the mail. Tom’s are very simple shows that are part of the one for one program. Every time someone buys a pair of Tom’s, a pair is given to a child without shoes somewhere in the world. All things aside from it being an amazing marketing idea, that’s a very insignificant part of why I wanted to get a pair of Tom’s.

I will say that I feel good knowing some kid who doesn’t have shoes right now will have some in the future thanks to my purchase. So, the marketing strategy is working. Although this is the main marketing strategy behind Tom’s, that’s not why I wanted them.

I got them because in every way, shape, and form these shoes are minimal. When my brother Tim first told me aboutTom’s, one of the first lines he said was, ‘what’s cool about them is that you don’t wear any socks.’ A light went off in my head. You mean I can get rid of wearing, packing, washing, and folding socks?

Minimal.

You can see the exact pair that I got above. There is nothing flashy or fancy about them. The ‘classics’ as they are called are very minimal in style. They are also minimal in price. The ‘classics’ are $44.00 making them the lowest priced shoes on the site for men. When most people see someone in Tom’s they think of them as trendy or socially conscience. While that might be true of me, it’s the minimalist in me that wanted the  Tom’s.

Zach