Karen Post

Results from a 25-point social media reach-out research project.
Last month, September 14th to be exact, I posted a blog about such a social media research project. With all the hype around social media marketing strategies and available tactics for businesses, I was curious if a full throttle social media approach would make a difference for a small business with my revenue model. I earn money from consulting, speaking and writing.

Objective: Determine if a 25-point social media effort is worth the investment and results.

TOP LINE FINDINGS FROM STUDY
Is a social media blitz on 25 different points of contact a good use of time and money that produces a meaningful return and results vs. the cost?
In my opinion, to date, from these efforts, NO. Could this change in 6 months, YES. It’s too early to track long-tail results such as if the Fox News report touches a book buyer, another media source or a future client from the visibility.

We invested over $3,800 in time, and that time could have been used for higher income generating activities. (As a side note, I realize my current business model has limited online revenue channels to convert, monetize and track.) But with our current model, the time and money resources we spent on social media, I believe this investment could have been better used and generated more of a return if we had spent that same amount on direct sales initiatives, ad words and media buys to produce better results.

Could these efforts payoff later?
Yes, the good thing about social media is, once it’s out there, it’s pretty permanent, so future clients could stumble upon our past efforts, articles and links. Additionally, the new visitors who come back to the site can buy products and services in the future now that they are aware of my site. And all of these social media efforts do aid in Search Engine Optimization. And for me SEO produced over $100,000 in fees this past year alone.

Was there one powerful means of social media that I believe is really worth it’s weight in gold from this test?
Our Mailchimp newsletter, (which is an aggregation of our blog feed) drives the most traffic to our site. Our Google analytics also shows that the top referral sources include: Twitter, TalentZoo newsletter and key media coverage.

If you decide to try monitoring your efforts and results from social media, you must first define what good results look like. For my companies, success from a marketing effort would look like:  More value than investment.

Our value framework was defined as:

• An increase in unique visitors to site
• An increase in new opt-ins to our mailing list
• An increase in affiliate sales
• An increase in book and product sales
• An increase in speaking engagements
• An increase in consulting projects
• An increase in (a top-tier, media source calling me for an interview)

Our value achieved that we can quantify:

• We’ve had an increase in unique visitors to our site by 100%
• We had 20 opt-ins to our mailing list in last 30 days (value $10.00 each)
• We sold 7 affiliate items and earned $7.00
• New book sales (can’t track yet)
• Product sales via tools store (our store was not up at the time of this test)
• New speaking engagements from blog (0)
• New consulting projects from blog (0)
• Top-tier media source interview (1) – Live.Foxnews.com booked me for 10/25

Investment is defined as time and money:
I look at time invested as actually paid time, plus the cost of missed opportunity because our time was tied up on this social media project, other tasks were put to the side.

Time expense on this project was calculated at: 17 hours at $300 an hour = $3700
My time includes: writing of the initial blog that we were touting (Branding and the Beast – How to not get bullied.), the blog about our 25-point study, I planned and did analysis of this project, completed items 1-8 out of 25 on the list and wrote this follow up blog of our results.

My staff‘s time to do list items 9-25 and participate in planning and analysis of our project was equal to 10 hours at an average of $60.00. Billable rate = $600.00.

Total cost of project: $4,300.00
Results that you can take to the bank = 0
Soft results that possibly can translate in future earnings = $500.00
Bottom line: Loss of $3,800.00

The 25-point social media activities we did to promote the blog and gain meaningful results, see original post for list.

Bottom line – should businesses bank on this type of expense?
I believe strong brands are cumulative efforts and any business’ marketing should include a diverse mix of touch points including social media.

Do you think social media efforts should have the same pull as a sharply designed direct response campaign where the credibility helps and sometime just the right placement turns into a home run at the end of season?

Brand On!

Have you ever felt like you have reached your limits? Whether it shows in your writing, business creation or time management – you are not alone! Below, learn how to develop strategies that will make you feel more productive, take your adventure to the next level and keep you in line – we’ll even tackle the stuff that keeps you up at night. Let Karen Post and the Oddpodz team lead the way.

1 – Does branding countries, government programs and leaders really matter? 3 part series that includes insight, strategy and recommendations.
2 – How to quickly sway opinion, sell product & make a point – with wordplay Metaphors can make a difference.
3 – Energize your entrepreneurial engine. Attend 3-day conference in Tampa. Engage in networking opportunities with students from all over the country as well as business professionals.
4 – Entrepreneur essentials – Bandwidth limits, saying no and time off. There are only so many hours in a day, what will you do with them?

For last weeks wrap up, click here.

Also, don’t forget to check out:
Slimy scam, smart business model or insightful day?
3 smart chicks, 10 ideas to breed more loyal blog readers
Greenwashing and other recycled business sins

Raising money, being a profitable venture from the get go and finding a golden opportunity is no easy drill for any entrepreneur.

Ben Huh, a former journalist, says it can be done and he just did it.

His holding company Pet Holdings, which run a slew of comedy-heavy, user-generated stuff, sites that the curate topics are based on user votes and interest in the content. Some of their wacky properties are: I Can Has Cheezburger, also known as LOL Cats, FAIL Blog, which shows user-submitted photos of all manner of things and people that are, well, failing at something and Memebase, that tracks Internet memes. Check all of them out. They are amazingly entertaining.

Under Ben’s leadership the company just raised a $30 million round of Series A financing for expansion. The funding round was sponsored by Foundry Group’s Brad Feld. The two met about one and a half years ago and developed a strong relationship. Feld said, “It’s a combination of a great team, a great leader and an ability to create something that can become a very large media property”. See full story from VentureWire.

In 2007 Ben bought the main Cheezburger site, also known as LOLcats, from two entrepreneurs in Hawaii and built it into an online collection of the funnest pictures of animals with the site’s signature misspelled captions plastered over them.

The company has grown to become the largest humor network in the world with growth to 16 million monthly unique visitors and 375 million monthly page views.

Holy feline!! With traffic like that, it’s no surprise that they earn lots of income from ad revenues and merchandise.

Congrats Ben! and all the cats and folks that helped him build his empire. And thanks for the inspiration.

Is there more room in this market space of completely goofy, user-generated content, weird named ventures? What niches have not been tapped yet and can they dance more than one song?

Top photo credit from I Can Has Cheezburger, author unknown.

Also, check out: 5 tips to manage the painful side effects of progress and change.

KEY STRATEGY- Better align all several companies, passions and goals.
Last year, I hosted a planning meeting with some of my top advisers to figure out how to make Oddpodz a profitable and sustainable venture.

Oddpodz has been a work in progress:
If we had a theme song, it would sound something like this.

Try, learn, fail.
Get clearer on who we are. Do it. Adjust.
Try more, learn, fail.
Try again, learn, make small progress forward.
Try again, learn, get clearer on what we need to be to. Do it.

(Repeat chorus) Try more, learn, fail. Keep at it. Improve everyday.

Like Seth Godin proclaims, Try stuff. Fail. Repeat. This is the fuel for success.

That day of planning lots of great ideas were generated. And we’ve implemented many of them, which have made us better, stronger and smarter.

However, the number one recommendation that day was to better align my core competencies (as the leader of the company and the Branding Diva®) with all of my interests, my speaking, my consulting and Oddpodz. I’ve done that this past year and it is working. I have more balance, peace and influence, and made more money in two of my other businesses, which is allowing me to fund Oddpodz long tail. Long tail is a term that was coined by Chris Anderson, founder of Wired. Long tail means: the distribution and inventory costs of businesses successfully applying this long tail strategy allows them to realize significant profit out of selling small volumes of hard-to-find items to many customers instead of only selling large volumes of a reduced number of popular items.

Oddpodz, the site, will remain a content rich series of blogs to help creative-minded entrepreneurs. Under the corporate entity we will are developing niche tools specific to segmented industries. This will be our long tail. The first one is for restaurants. I’ll be sharing more on this soon.

So what does alignment look like?

• Doing what you do best. For me, it’s writing. Oddpodz is a publishing model.
• Be a clear brand voice. Not watered down with a distractions. Oddpodz is an extension of ME.
• Help people with your expertise. Mine is branding, marketing, entrepreneurial expertise. Oddpodz focus is just that.
• Laser focus on highest margin revenue and brand opportunities first. Oddpodz is a long tail company, my other companies are not. That’s OK.
  
• Strategically leverage and streamline everything. As Oddpodz is getting older, we are simpler and a cross-promoted company with a known brand, MOI!

Are you an entrepreneur with several ventures, some doing well, and others challenged? Can better alignment with your core, your brand, be the answer?

It’s an idea.

For more on strategies, check out: 12 questions to ask yourself while planning your 2011 marketing strategies.

Call me crazy, the anti-saving queen, the discount defector, the over spending psycho shopper – I don’t like coupons!

I do like being rewarded with gifts for my loyalty, finding items with extreme value for a fair price and being a recipient of a bonus tied to a purchase. To me that’s all cool. However, you will never see me packing a coupon at a nice restaurant or signing up at Groupon. See end of story of their story.

So what’s the difference?
The difference is: How it’s packaged and the psychological message that accompanies it.

My aversion to discounting started as a child. My mother and grandmother were coupon addicts, my mother still is. So from the get-go it was part of my rebel nature. If my mom did it, I was not going there. (Sorry mom)

Later in life, when I started selling things that I created and built with lots of sweat and investment, a client wanted a fire sale price or discount. I processed that request as if the buyer didn’t see the value in what I delivered; they were uneducated or maybe just cheap, either way my ego was insulted.

As I matured as a business person and understood the costs of goods/services, overhead and profit, paying full price for things was tied to my value system. As an entrepreneur supporting other entrepreneurs and economies I felt it was my duty to pay a business, that provided a quality/valuable product, a fair, and many times full price, so they could be around next year.

I also have been around many whiny people who do not value themselves, always feel like they are a victim and don’t run a business. Their affinity to discounts, and their chest pounding with feelings of triumphant, when a business has to discount—annoys me.

Discounts, two for one, buy one, get one free—all scream desperate, needs sales badly or worse – sneaky marketing.
Maybe my knowledge of business gives me an unfair advantage or my knowledge of life cuts through any faux coupon cloud.

First point.
My opinion on coupons and discounts is not universal, I am a market segment (professional, educated, not poor, supports capitalism, high level of quality standards, values principles of business) that certain sellers need to understand and speak to. To get me to buy one needs to package a quality offering, price it in a fair manner and stand behind it with enough resources (that hopefully you’ve earned).

Second point.
There are many consumers who are not like me (my mother, a college student, a single mom with 4 kids etc.) and successfully selling to them may look different. The recent recession has had an impact on pricing strategies. The key, to discounting or not, needs to align to the values of your buyers.

Third point.
I’ve witnessed many a brand demise when quality companies resort to deep discounting. Instead they should focus on better communications on their value offering, product experience and performance. Apple , Rolex, Mont Blanc or BMW don’t discount.

Another story, three more important points.
Even though I’ve hammered against the concept of discounts and coupons, today in The Wall Street Journal there is an excellent story on Groupon, an online company that was offered $6 billion from Google and they passed. Groupon offers local, online visitors, daily deals with significant discounts. I applaud their confidence in themselves, the intriguing business model and their success. The story is worth reading.  Three messages that stuck with me were, 1.) the founder first started  the company on a different path and lost over  $1,000,000, Don’t give up! 2.) The founder believes the success of Groupon is credited to the simpleness of the idea vs. the first company concept was complex. Simple is good. 3.) Livingsocial.com is another similar local/discount model and Amazon just pumped $175 million into it. Isn’t business fun!

For more on coupons, view: Are you as consumer savvy with your advertising as you are with your groceries?

If you’re an entrepreneur at the early stages of success, most likely you’ve pondered how best to get your business to the next level of growth. To create high value opportunities to pursue what matters to you, and be massively compensated for doing so, you must increase your value to others first.

To begin, let’s define an “early-stage entrepreneur” as a person whose business currently sustains them at a  “self-employed” job level, but not at the level where their financial flow allows them to be free to do whatever they please in a day. If this describes where you’re at right now in your business, allow me to add value to you!
Without exception, every entrepreneur I’ve worked with has a burning desire to attain a level of financial success that would enable them to spend all their “work time” being creative and innovative, constantly in a “state to play” with ideas that matter to them and bring more value to the marketplace.

Even when your vision about your greater future is clear, you still need an answer you feel confident is the right one to the question of “how do I get there?  Here are three ideas that may help you gain more clarity about how you will go about creating more opportunity by expanding your value to others.

Supply is infinite, time is finite.
There are two variables in life common to all of us– potential and time. We all have the same amount of both in a day.

There is no more time available than what is provided in a day. You choose how you occupy your time across the 24 hours in a single earth rotation. Take 8 hours off for sleep, and the most you have available for creating and experiencing what you want is 16 hours.

On the other hand, within a single earth rotation, there is infinite supply of “potential opportunity” as yet unrealized. To attract this potential opportunity to you, start by shifting your thinking from the world of the finite or competitive plane (current perception of lack and limitation) to the realm of the infinite or creative plane. (creativity and innovation to create more value). It is from the latter that all “value” is created. The source of infinite supply is found within you–always available for your use. The formula is simple: perceived value x leverage = wealth!

Make a big space in your life for big changes.
 Most early-stage entrepreneurs get stuck in the repetitive cycle of creating “survival-based” results. At the early stage of the journey, it can sometimes feel overwhelming just to keep the boat floating!  Many believe outer forces–the state of the economy, not enough capital, influential contacts, or cheaper competitors–determine their results. Over time, many unconsciously set their efforts at the threshold of survival, and believe greater achievements are simply not in the cards.

Start by making a big space in your life for it to happen. Stop what you are doing step back and make an assessment of your scene. Get rid of anything in your business and your life that does not support you. And I mean everything! Making a big space requires making big changes– in your thinking, limiting beliefs, your habits, your relationships, your support and organizational structure. Change whatever it takes to fill the space with higher-value relationships that represent greater financial appreciation for the value you provide.
Then each year, set the bar ever higher. Instead of each client transaction representing $10,000, over time it becomes $100,000. You don’t increase your workload; you increase your perceived value to your clients and customers. Embrace change and experience constant growth. Growth leads to a constant increase in your confidence that ever-greater opportunity will always seek you out.

Be really good and really different.
This idea might seem like an over simplification on the surface, but the effects of this principle will have a profound impact on your ability to create bigger opportunity to experience financial freedom through your business.

In every product or service category there is commodization. We live in a time and society where there is an abundance of everything in the marketplace. Anytime there is an abundant supply, customers have abundant choice. When customers have abundant choice among products or services, they perceive little difference in the value they provide. Consequently, they set the price.

This is what keeps many early-stage entrepreneurs on the short end of the stick when it comes to their power in the buying cycle.  Whatever you provide must be perceived as highly valued by your customers (because your value is unique and in short supply) and highly differentiated (from the slush pile of your competitors in the marketplace).

Never think for a moment that what has made another successful will make you likewise. You have to follow your own unique path and expression in creating value for others. Creating value begins by engaging in what really matters to you! The world is already full of me-too stuff!  Always remember this–value is in the eye of the beholder!  You job is to grow the “quality of your presence” through your unique gifts and strengths.

To experience higher levels of business and life success, you must first understand the difference between meeting demand and creating it.  To get there, you must become a value creator as opposed to an order taker!

Thomson Dawson helps creative entrepreneurs and solo professionals gain more clarity and confidence to pursue their best opportunities for a bigger, better future. Get your FREE Guide to Building a Competition Proof Business: www.whitehotcenter.com

To read more from Thomas Dawson, view: Money, money, money!

Sorry I can’t help you. 9 reasons why passing on cash and new business will make you richer. This blog post is important to every business owner. And it’s a really  fun one for me to write, since I recently cruised on an Amtrak train to Aspen from Denver (77 bucks and a priceless experience).

No we can’t do lunch either.

originally posted 9.2.10
This is way cool! I’m in an awesome, relaxing environment and working too.
Plugged in, computer on my lap,  beautiful views of the mountains and bears, a glass of wine, jamming to Amy Winehouse and wearing my Bose headphones, so the screaming kid two rows in front to me does not even bug me. No consistent Internet, but that’s OK, a break from it is healthy.

All week I’ll be blogging from the road. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Now back to “No, I can’t help you”.
Saying no thank you to a gig, a sweet opportunity or some cool cash is no easy job, especially if you’ve got bills that need attention and staffers to pay. New business prospects in any category can be so seductive. It often feels like a new admirer, or sometimes a life raft or better yet, a way to breathe, like my inhaler if you’ve got asthma like me.

Why the rush of adrenaline and excitement? Because as entrepreneurs many of us are programmed to think that any cash flow is good cash flow and without it, you could be another dead fish sinking up the shore of economy. Whoever started that thinking is likely broke and wondering what happened. The fact is, not all business and opportunity are created equal. There is smart money from great customers and there is toxic money that will wear you down and be a time sucking, distracting poison that will also slow down your journey to achieve success. The key is knowing the difference and having the ability to say “no thank you”, when it’s not the right fit.

Last week a prospect contacted me. She had discovered my consulting web site via a Google search. Her first note to me indicated she was an accomplished doctor, who had a new book and needed everything, brand name, brand program, blah, blah, blah etc. I responded ASAP and we scheduled an initial phone chat. I’ve learned many years ago, that before you jump to a person-to-person meeting, first talk on the phone, be armed with some qualifying questions (what is your schedule for this project, do you have a budget, who else is doing this?tell me about your support team etc.) do a lot of listening, and in advance check the prospect out online.

Our call followed and was productive. We had good chemistry, she explained her product and where she wanted to go with it. It was a diet product that I had an affinity to (the wellness space) and there seemed to be a large enough opportunity to continue to invest time with her.

I recommended that the next step be, that we meet in person. However, before then, I needed to see an executive summary to be clear on her goals and assess if they had their ducks in a row. Being a branding or any kind of consultant is a collaborative effort. If the client is a train wreck, the program results will likely be similar. We scheduled an in person meeting for that following Friday. I followed up with an email clearly outlining what I needed to see and included a non-disclosure agreement, so she would be comfortable sharing her business plan.

I got no reply from her or confirmation that our 2nd meeting was set after my email. I sent her a second email and still no reply. Then 24 hours before our scheduled follow up meeting, she resurfaces with her executive summary. By that time, I had already booked the Friday time shot, so I offered an alternative time next week. After reviewing her documents, I also got a sense that this was a business operating in a bit of a fog zone. No hard research. No business plan. No business financial model. No target market. And unrealistic view and budget of what it takes to launch a brand and produce significant income results. These deficiencies are not deal killers,  as long as they are open to getting some professional assistance in filling in the missing pieces. One of my favorite business planning tools is called Business Plan Pro. This PaloAltoSoftware is easy to use and priced for the entrepreneur. I highly recommend tapping in to a resources like this to help create your business plan. But no matter what, if a client does not know where they want to go, what their goals are, it will be a high-risk road to get them there (flag 1).

Additionally in my email back to her, I shared a range of costs for my branding and marketing firm to produce the marketing pieces and provide the consulting that she was requesting. The 2nd meeting was scheduled for Tues. and I needed to drive about an hour from my office to get there. Monday night I received a reply to my rough budget range, the questions about the holes in her plan and some inquiries about her 50/50 business partner. Her reply concerning the business plan was stretchy at best. Her detail about her business partner was also suspicious to me. He was 50/50, but not a funding source, not medial authority and his area of expertise a bit fishy too, financial advisor and astrologist. His web site was even more troubling, cheesy and no screaming signs of marketing guru-ness (flag 2). The entire reply was a collection of more red flags. It went from the initial reach out of “we need everything, branding wise” to “we have no money until we sell the book” and need some initial consulting (flag 3). These new discoveries seemed unfortunate. Because, I really liked the doctor, admired her achievements and love anything that helps people feel good and be healthy.

It was evaluation time for me. Do I meet with her and her partner on Tues. or punt?
Here are the 5 questions one should ask when evaluating an opportunity.  No matter how appealing the cash is, if you answer NO to more than three, pass, punt and abort all efforts and get back to something that will get you closer to your most important goals.

1) Do you believe in and love the category? Yes, I did.

2) Will the work be fun? Could be.

3) Within 6 months will you be fairly rewarded for the value you contribute? No.

4) Is there a leader who can make decisions? For me, committees or a 50/50 partnership are no better than a bad nightmare.

5) Does the company or prospect know where they are going? And have accountable goals documented? No.

6) Do they (today) have the funds to pay for your value? No.

7) Do you believe they have their ducks in a row? No.

8) What is your gut telling you,  go for it? No.

9) Will taking on this project be a direct stepping stone to one of your top 3 goals in life? No. Are there less than 3 big and bright red flags? NO.

Mine red flags: 5 day before a reply after our first call to confirm meeting, a light weight business plan, no funds, betting on a brand to be their business and a 50/50 business partner that I was not clear on their contributions. This one is likely a no brainy for you to know what I did. However, it’s not surprising when it’s a real prospect, with some real green cash, and a smooth talking prospect—it not so clear or easy.

If your time, (which we all have only so much of) could be better allocated to something that is going to get you closer to your real goals, then. . . Just say NO to business you should not be doing. Focus on the right stuff that matters, stick to your plan, your standards and enjoy your success.

I wish this doctor and all startups well. And maybe this one will pull it off and I will have missed a great opportunity. That’s OK, there is a ton of right fit business out there, use your energy on finding and serving them and you’ll be a richer entrepreneur for it.

I’m loving this train ride. I should be in Aspen in few hours. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on how to identify, other pass, punt and abort prospects too.

Also view: Can you feel broke, frugal and affluent all in 1 week?

This story is a tough one to write. It’s about a Houston restaurant that for 27 years served up the best, authentic South Louisiana food, created memories for such notable guests as Anna Nicole Smith and her then billionaire husband, Olympian Carl Lewis, many of the Houston Rockets, Astros and Texans, national politicians, film entertainers, and me.

Last week, The Magnolia Bar & Grill closed its doors.
Sure lots of great eating establishments come and go, but this one was special. The Magnolia Bar & Grill was where my marketing career started. I was a bit younger, 22 years old to be exact, and certainly learning the ropes of business. The owners of the Magnolia Bar & Grill Jody Larriviere, Jimmy Gossen and the Landry brothers had just opened the doors for business. I was there one night having dinner and met Jody, the managing partner. He explained that they were a brand new restaurant and needed some help with marketing. The rest is history as The Magnolia Bar & Grill was my first client as a marketing professional (back then the word branding was not even a business term) and it was the beginning of my journey as an entrepreneur.

Our relationship started as a food for service swap or barter. They had limited cash in the beginning and I needed to eat. Prior to taking them on as a client in 1982, I was earning not much more than minimum wage. So the great Cajun grub was a big bonus. It was also an awakening for my taste buds with my introduction to cayenne pepper, a staple in Louisiana food.

The restaurant did not close because of a weak brand, nor was it a business failure. The restaurant was a tremendous financial success and the brand will live on for years.

Jody, Jimmy and the dedicated team (From Tommy, the waiters and waitresses, busboys, kitchen staff and bartenders) they earned this place in the minds of the market by consistently delivering a fun experience, mouth-watering food and solid service, this brand customers and the media will not forget. They also earned endless accolades in the national, regional and local press including: “Best Restaurants in America” in GQ Magazine. They were featured in The New York Times, USA Today and numerous In-flight magazines. And regularly were awarded for best brunch, best seafood and best outdoor dinning in local publications.

The Magnolia Bar & Grill closed because the location and surrounding environment significantly changed. These shifts did not support the brand product, its pricing and the target audience. Their lease was up and it no longer was a good business decision to continue operations.

Restaurant business is one of the toughest industries to succeed in. Margins are slim, customers fickle, competition never stops and bad weather can waste thousands of dollars in perishable food inventory without notice.

So how did the Magnolia Bar & Grill prosper for nearly three decades, live through a few serious recessions, a fire, a roof falling in after a rainstorm, a Gulf Coast cholera scare in seafood and a least three hurricanes?

They built the business, and their restaurant brand with these five important strategies.

1. They leveraged publicity, word of mouth referral and limited paid advertising. From the early days when I had an active role in the marketing of the restaurant to this past year, resources were allocated to support channels of influence by what others said, not in paid advertising. This meant if there was $2,000 to spend, it would be resourced to fund a media event, a customer new menu/tasting party or to stay active with the concierge’s association. Paid advertising was very limited. Third-party endorsements were key.
2. They recognized that discounting can be a kiss of death. Even in the toughest economic recessions, there are profound negative brand associations with certain discounting practices. Buy one, get one free, may bring in traffic spike, but, its not the customer they wanted. The Magnolia believed there were better ways to appreciate and give value to a customer.
3. They gave back and often. From the End of Hunger Network, to cultural arts organizations and hundreds of other nonprofits, The Magnolia Bar & Grill gave food, time and support year after year, even in the early days when they were not profitable.
4. They embraced and practiced the principle that great brands are built on experiences, not a single menu or product item. The Magnolia Bar & Grill had kick-butt gumbo and the best crab fingers around, but the leadership and team knew they were selling something much bigger, an experience, a memory and a great time. Equal focus and investment was applied to all touch points, the music, the staff training, the menu, the lighting, parking and Website.
5. They knew when to hold’em and when to fold’em. As difficult as it was closing this institution down, The Magnolia Bar & Grill had lived its course. They have so much to be proud of and had contributed significantly to the local economy and community for 27 years. As a business, leadership should never loose sight of the balance and math of the operation, the costs verses profits and market changes verses brand image and critical momentum.

Will the equity of the Magnolia Bar & Grill brand re-sprout somewhere in the future? It’s hard to say. Jody Larriviere and Jimmy Gossen also successfully own and operate Louisiana Fine Foods, a whole seafood company and Jimmy G’s, a casual seafood restaurant by George Bush Intercontinental Airport in North Houston. I will keep you posted.