Scott Free Thinking

A lot of people would like to think that society’s typical model of competition is ideal for their business, but what they feel to realize is that when competition harms other groups of people besides just the business they’re competing with, it harms them. And there’s always collateral. There certainly has to be some level of what’s hidden to the public eye, and what is also revealed - but what do I mean by this? Am I talking about stuff like dumping toxic waste into a river and then telling everyone to be quiet about it? No, of course not! I’m actually referring to the things in business that allow that business to be successful. For instance, a magician does not reveal his tricks to just anyone, and a company that is giving you prices at a discount does not reveal its sources to just anyone. But where is it that you draw the line in deciding what to hide and what to reveal to the public with your business?

I’ll go ahead and use my business as an example because that seems like an easy, logical place to start. To do this, let me explain a little bit about what my business actually is. I’m actually involved in a few, some that are more successful than the others. The first is a company I co-founded with a guy from my high school graduating class named Stephen Wolfe, called Barton Ct. Productions Inc. Barton Ct. is a production company here in Houston where I live and we produce short films, commercials, we do custom small event videos, etc. Well, to make a long story short - Barton Ct. is not financially well off. To really create what we’d like to create, we do not have the sufficient income level. Our business consists primarily of selling short film DVD’s, selling t-shirts, and hopefully soon we will launch advertising with our online TV channel, BartonTV.

During my time with Barton Ct. Productions, I had talked to the other guys that run the company with me about starting an on-demand model apparel store using CafePress.com. That store, which they rejected and turned down in the wake of my trying to set Barton Ct. up with some source of income, ended up being something that I went to pursue on my own. The result was Dirty Mechanism, an online store which has now brought in thousands in revenue. But let’s stop here for a moment, because it is important to point out that what Dirty Mechanism really is, is the on-demand service of CafePress. CafePress is a company than began in 1999, gained corporate sponsorship relatively quickly, and has since succeeded in becoming the #1 most recognized and trusted on-demand apparel brand. This is a bit of a disadvantage, because Dirty Mechanism can generally only offer the products that CafePress offers, and in alignment with that idea - CafePress cuts into the possible profit margins that Dirty Mechanism could have by taking a cut of DM’s business.

But when you’re talking about a business that does not begin to approach the resources necessary to be run out of its own corporate headquarters with a warehouse to manufacture and ship clothes out of - it is a business model that is fundamentally cost effective, and makes sense. CafePress.com works by essentially allowing users to become “shopkeepers,” supply their products with content to use, and their markup on CafePress’s base price(which already earns CafePress profit), is their commission. Recently, CafePress.com announced that they will be introducing a $3.00 price increase on two-sided garments coming up at the end of August, 2007, claiming that it was required to cover additional labor, ink, and material costs. Part of the essential idea of CafePress using a “base price” on their products was that the cost of those products was factored on all different areas, including that of labor and ink costs to print on both sides of a garment. For CafePress to suddenly introduce a $3.00 increase, it means that users will actually not have any idea whether or not what they say is true.

And here is a problem for Dirty Mechanism’s business, and for that matter, all stores that are associated with CafePress.com - if CafePress.com were to take a turn for the worse in their business, that means the other stores associated with it would have to as well, unless there was a competitor of CafePress to fall back on(which there is, but no other competitor falls on the same scale at the time of this writing). CafePress, as a business, can choose to not reveal quite a lot about their business practices. If the $3.00 price increase was a result of increased labor costs or if it was just to increase their profit margins - no one in the public really has any right to know under federal or California state law where they’re located. Their printing process is one that is even kept secretive, not allowing anyone besides those trusted enough to that of the company itself, to know how the process works. The shopkeepers themselves, the very people who provide content to CafePress in exchange for commission, are even kept in the dark about how their own product is being created. In addition, CafePress does not have to reveal its full sales figures until they are a publicly owned company. This is an amazing thought!

What becomes interesting then, is thinking about some of the other things out there. How much does the media reveal to you about how a business works, even when presented from a journalistic perspective? How do we know that these bloggers who claim they are simply trying to help other people(and are very successful themselves), are not keeping some major secrets about how they generate their income? The answer, of course, is that we have no way of knowing what anyone hides! I know for a fact that I am sometimes careful about what I write or reveal to the public, not just here, but in all of my businesses. But perhaps this should change? Is the prospect of businesses hiding their methods, and essentially keeping their pace of progress completely up to themselves, simply rooted back to fear based thinking?

But somewhere, I believe, we need to draw a line in our thinking. We cannot simply say that we are not afraid, and therefore have nothing to hide. The fact of the matter is, there will be your competition looking for how you operate, and that competition will be looking to take advantage of whatever it is you have let your guard down about. While it is not necessary to follow a typical model of competition - some things will give you an advantage.

And that is where all these marketers get away with selling you products that promise you “the secrets to success,” or for that matter, think about the very marketing scheme behind The Secret (Extended Edition) itself. They even went so far as to put the word, “secret,” in the title when all it really is is an elaborate presentation about the Law of Attraction. From my own experience, however, remember this - any secret truly worth giving away in a DVD or a learning course for anywhere from $20-$500 is no secret at all, and is certainly not the “gold mine” you’re looking for. The true stuff worth searching for and even creating on your own lies from within. In essence, the true secrets worth knowing and keeping are the ones that likely have yet to be discovered!

Another thing to consider is that most successful business has little to hide about why it is so successful. For instance, consider the basic model of each system and how it fits into today’s demands. CafePress has created a system that allows millions upon millions of products to be created so that no matter what your interest is, you are going to find it there on their site. Almost nothing is too obscure, because they utilize the talents of hundreds of thousands of shopkeepers. So what if you do not understand their printing process and they’re not telling you how to use it? That is not the real secret to their success. Their success formula is staring you right in the face - it’s their extremely clever business model. Or heck, how about McDonald’s? Is their secret to success something within their food? Well, certainly the food has to taste good, but they are the fast food king - the most recognized name brand in all of fast food. People who start a McDonald’s franchise likely have some powerful success if they choose the proper location because McDonald’s has spent time building people’s trust with an incredibly in-depth marketing program.

So just take that into consideration - the most powerful methods for establishing a business and keeping your methods hidden often are able to be shown straight out in the open. It is the little things that you likely want to hold onto, and keep hidden, because the little things can give you a distinct advantage over your competition.