I don’t usually sport a stache… (at least not like this).

But every December, I thoroughly enjoy participating in Infusion’s “Beard-Off” competition. Though poorly named, this annual tradition is all about who can put on the most facial hair–and then craft it into a work of art. Several prizes are awarded:

• Narc (Best Mustache)
• Norris (Best Overall Beard)
• Ozark Hobo (Scariest)
• Van Casso (Most Creative)
• Patch Adams (Patchiest Beard)

My message today is to those who raise their noses at this youthful venture… I can hear you now… “What child’s play! Unprofessional!”

You know what I say to that: “Bah Humbhug!”

If you’re tempted to become a beard-booer… ask yourself this: Why did you get into a small business in the first place? So you could be controlled by a bunch of boring people and irrelevent opinions? If you want to do that, I can point you toward a bunch of big, boring companies who’d be happy to stamp out all of the fun and excitement in your life.

So maybe a clever mustache competition isn’t going to dramatically affect our bottom line this year. But if you ask me, the same culture of “fun” that inspires this tradition is what fuels the creativity, innovation, and passion in our business.

The point is, let’s lighten up and enjoy life in small business!

P.S. I must admit… I did find it slightly embarrassing escorting my grandmother to our monthly lunch with my handlebar stache. And yes, I do find the thing very itchy.

Infusion’s Finalists:

Raise your hand if you’ve ever had a flash of insight about a perfect domain name that is sure to bring instant success… …And keep your hand up if you’ve ever spent (wasted) a significant amount of time at your favorite registrar (mine) searching over and over until you find one that’s available. OK, if you’re hand’s not up, I know you’re lying :). The Google Story (thank you Pat Sullivan founder of ACT! for turning me on to the book) tells the story of the original search for Google.com When Larry Page and Sergey Brin decided that BackRub (the original name for their search engine) wasn’t going to cut it, they settled on Google, a “smaller” version of Googolplex (a very large number). The domain name was available, so Larry Page registered it and wrote it on the whiteboard: Google.com Someone else in the office came in and added ‘You misspelled it. It is supposed to be G-o-o-g-o-l.’ Googol.com had already been taken. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think Google has suffered from it’s “less-than-perfect” domain name. Appropriate thought was given, a decision was made, and an empire was built. I agree that BackRub needed to go. But I also believe that had the brainstorming conversation that night taken a slightly different course, the empire that we know today as Google could have easily carried a different name. Different name, different domain name perhaps, but it would have been the same great search capability, and had the same impact. The success isn’t in the domain name… the domain name just gets to be part of the success. And for all those small businesses out there angsting over finding just the right domain, let Google’s story be a lesson. P.S. Today, Googol.com is just a redirect to another site.

It has been interesting for me to watch the faces of the visitors as they come to the Infusion office.

The second they walk through the Infusion doors, they get hit with one of two things. If they somehow avoid being pelted by one of the many Nerf basketballs or darts that seem to always be in flight, then they will likely be “hit” with a feeling of energy and excitement and passion that permeates the entire atmosphere.

We call this the process of “getting infused”. In fact, this process of “getting infused” (coming to Infusion and catching on fire) is now a regular part of Infusion vocabulary. We jump at every opportunity we get to invite customers, prospects and vendors to come to Infusion.

I have heard so many prospects, customers and employees comment about this energy and passion, that for a period of time I almost became desensitized to it. One day, Clate had to make a visit to some kind of government office for some reason. When he came back, he had this half-depressed, half-excited look on his face.

He told me that he walked into this government office and immediately had the life sucked out of him because of the draining, dry, void-of-life, innovation-free environment. He came back more excited and thankful than ever, realizing that what we’ve been able to create here is remarkably different than most places.

I’ve thought a lot about how the Infusion culture has developed and progressed over time. We have always prided ourselves in having passion and enthusiasm for solving small business problems… but where does it all come from? Why have we been able to take “normal” people (without MBAs or extensive training) and turn them into effective small business problem solvers (i.e. consultants) that have an unusual passion and excitement that spills over like a contagious airborne disease?

The complete analysis deserves much more treatment than a single blog entry, so I plan to give my analysis in chunks. For now, the question in our minds should be: how can we each create a culture where innovation, creativity and passion fill the air to the point that no employee, vendor, or customer can escape without filling their lungs with a couple good whiffs of “the good stuff”.

In preparation for our last momentum conference, we spent 1/2 hour in a VP meeting debating whether we could pull off a field trip to the Infusion offices as part of the event. Why on earth would we care so much about that? During the Marketing Excellence event last year, we loved having our customers here, with us. Our customers appreciated it too. I think everyone likes to know that the people they are doing business with are REAL people.

For many of our customers, catching a glimpse of the Infusion team let’s them put a “real face” on Infusion. Otherwise, the only thing they think about is the “interface” that they see when they log in to the software every day.

What do your customers think about when they think of your company? Do they see a “real face” or do they see a box, or a website, or a product? In my experience, one of the most effective tools in keeping a customer loyal is a personal relationship. I have seen countless of examples, in many different businesses, of customers being willing to forgive quickly or ignore all together–because of a personal relationship.

So back to the field trip…

Logistically it was going to be a nightmare, so we took a risk and decided to have a video created with the specific purpose of replicating what people feel when they come to the Infusion office. If having your customers come to be with you physically is not an option, perhaps a well-made video will do the trick.

We were thrilled with the results, and I think our customers appreciated avoiding the 1-hour bus ride on a warm May afternoon! Check it out here:

http://www.infusionsoft.com/company/general/overview.html

Scott

I’m happy to announce that our marketing team has launched a brand-new website that will (for many reasons) be far superior to what it’s been.

Click here to check it out:

-Scott

At Ken McCarthy’s System Seminar, Lloyd Irvin, Brazilian World Jiu Jitzsu champion, successful info-marketer and Infusion CRM user got up to share his story. Several years prior, he had shown up to a System Seminar as a newbie… didn’t know a thing. He told the story of how he had gone from completely green to where he is today.

I watched and listened. Many people sat back in awe at what he had created. I heard someone say that “It is so clear for him… it seems so easy… he knows exactly what to do!”

Lloyd finished off with a great statement. He said: By the way, there were no “special rooms” that I went into at that seminar. I sat there in the audience next to a whole bunch of other people just like you and we all listened to the same speakers.”

Thanks Lloyd… I like that. Now, I suppose there actually are special rooms somewhere where special people get advantages over us regular people. But for the most part… for the rest of us… we live in a time where the playing field is more level than it’s ever been. Every single person on this earth wakes up and has 24 hours to use up for better or for worse.

I have to wonder if we spend too much time looking at “successful people” and trying to learn from what they are doing TODAY. Shouldn’t we actually be trying to learn what they did BEFORE? Can’t we learn the most from the decisions they made along the way that got them to where they are now?

Next time you’re tempted to look at someone in awe and wish you had it as good as they do, please do yourself a favor and stop. If you REALLY want what they have, figure out what they did to get there, and go out and get to work.