Week 7 – Still a Good Story

A few days ago, I had the opportunity to sit with my father-in-law for about an hour and explain the entire davemail concept and why I would be attempting to branch out in such a time as this. The younger kids were in bed, the older ones were busy and the women were running an errand. It was a perfect time to lay out the story to a willing, and sort of captive, audience.

It actually was a great exercise because I had to start from scratch. I explained the industry, the unserved niche, the financial realities and the incredible opportunity. He asked good questions and I think was confident that I was not endangering the well-being of his daughter and grandchildren. He really got it and was genuinely excited for me and the potential the business holds.

The best part was that even at around 11:30 p.m. after a long day, I was so excited after sharing my story that I couldn’t go to sleep. My mind was racing with all the tasks still to be accomplished before the relaunch, and I couldn’t wait to get to them.

And that is where I stand today. The business cards are at the printer (sample above), the brochure concept is awesome and the Web site is in back-end development. I also am working with an experienced public relations professional for some help with media relations and story pitching. (Even PR guys can use help with PR – an outside perspective and very specific media skills will prove invaluable to me.)

For the first time, I am tossing out a launch date, although as marketing expert Seth Godin says, the days of the dramatic, media-grabbing, behavior-changing launch are mostly over. But a target date is helping me see a finish line for development and a starting point for sharing my new and incredibly exciting (to me, anyway,) materials.

While a lot can happen between now and then, I am shooting for two weeks from today – April 27. In the meantime, I have messages to refine, media lists to cull and newsletter-related blogs to write. Can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing.

ECONOMIC SNAPSHOT
Dow: 8083 (up-and-down week ended slightly ahead)
Unemployment Rate: 8.5% (March)
Big News: President Obama says our economy is showing "glimmers of hope" despite continued economic difficulties.