Our Product is Explanation
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Yesterday I had a great talk/interview with Jeff DeCagna of Principled Innovation for his P.I. Podcast. We talked about the Common Craft story, but also about "Being Lightweight", based on the recent series of posts. Big thanks to Jeff for the invitation.
Have a listen on Jeff's site.
For the last few months, we've been "foundation building." For us, this means taking the time to focus on the business behind Common Craft and how we communicate our business to you. Our goal is clarity - if we are clear about the exact business that we run, then we're more able to illustrate our value to potential customers. It's hard work and something we're excited to see come to fruition. Now that it's in place, we can really focus on videos.
The elements of the foundation:
Licenses -... Continue Reading
We are blown away with the response to the recent post "What Videos Should We Make?" Not just the quantity (over 50 comments and lots of email), but the quality. It's exciting to see suggestions that have opened up new ideas and ones that fit with a couple of the themes that have been top-of-mind.
As I've told Sachi recently, it feels a little like we're at the edge of a pool, preparing to jump in. We're confident that we're on the right track, but the content of our future videos will... Continue Reading
Our big transition is almost complete and we need your help. The new Store is up, we're finishing up the last custom projects and now is the time to plan what videos we'll offer in the Store over the next year. We have lots of ideas, but we really want to know what you think.
We want to make videos that:
Help professionals and educators increase awareness and create change at work
Have a positive impact on the Web
A good example of this is our video "Wikis in Plain English", which is part... Continue Reading
This evening we've taken the wraps off the new CommonCraft.com and we'd love your feedback and help. The biggest change is the new and improved video Store, which is fashioned after the shopping experience on sites like NetFlix. As I've said before, we see the Store as the centerpiece of our future business and we're so excited to have a foundation on which we can build.
To go with the new Store, we've made a video (below) that explains the way our video licensing works. "Common Craft... Continue Reading
Being Lightweight: Business Design
Posted by: leelefever on July 20, 2008- 5:00pm
Categories: beingsmall, business, lesson, lightweight, marketing, ourwork
This is the third in a series of posts about Being Lightweight. The first two were about Working with Clients and Tools We Use.We are lucky to have a product that people like. Our challenge is to experiment and find the best ways to build a business around this product. To be successful we need the business to be profitable, but also work within the life we want to live.We see this process as "business design" and as this series outlines, being lightweight is a big priority. Below are a... Continue Reading
Beachcombers and Making the Lightweight Choice
I suppose some would say it's downright un-American, but we worked on July 4th and 5th. It was our choice - a choice that enabled us to take the 7th and 8th and go camping without the hordes of people. It's something we do often - work when others aren't so we can play without crowds. It's a choice we make.
On this camping trip, we met someone whose attitude reminds us a little of our own. She runs the tiny "Beachcomber Cafe" at Fort Flagler State Park . Fort Flagler is situated on the... Continue Reading
Being Lightweight: Tools We Use
Posted by: leelefever on June 9, 2008- 5:00pm
Categories: beingsmall, business, cooltols, lesson, lightweight, ourwork
This is the second in a series of posts about being lightweight. Our first was focused on working with clients and this installment is all about tools we use.
Tools, or the the wrong tools, become a risk when they create unnecessary drag in every day work. Often, we've found ourselves wondering if we're using a sledgehammer to drive a nail. If so, we look for alternatives.
In being lightweight, we also consider mental and emotional baggage that goes along with tools. We're often willing... Continue Reading
I wouldn't call it disappointment, but rather a dose of reality. I spent the last week in Las Vegas at the Community 2.0 conference and with my family thereafter. Coming back, I must say that the trip gave me some much-needed perspective. Let me explain.We work from home. We make videos, we put them on the Web, people watch them. We track our views, our Technorati links, our mentions in Twitter, our blog comments. A good percentage of people we see in social situations in Seattle are aware... Continue Reading
Being Lightweight: Working with Clients
Posted by: leelefever on May 10, 2008- 5:00pm
Categories: beingsmall, business, lesson, lightweight, ourwork
It's a question we ask each other all the time - what is the most lightweight way we can do this?We are a small company who is trying to do big things. In order to be
successful, we need to reduce drag - to remove the processes,
bureaucracies and commitments that slow us down and don't pay off.
Today we're kicking off a series of posts called "Being Lightweight" that will relate what lightweight means to us and hopefully help you think differently about how you focus your attention.
Working... Continue Reading