durtbagz: i can has good people

this week has been full of ups and downs. the downs came first when i became pretty frustrated with how slow things were going and wasn’t exactly sure how to fix it.

it takes money to start a company. money that you have to pay back, typically with interest. you pay this money back buy selling whatever you started your company for. no sales = no money to pay off debt. you can see why i wake up at 2am, thinking of weird ways to spread the word on durtbagz.

there’s the saying that you should surround people who represent what you want or how you want to be. for example, if you want to make something of yourself, don’t run with britney or paris or nicole or lindsay or oil slick (brandon davis). hang around people that make you want to be smarter and be more successful. and this doesn’t just pertain to your business life. in general, run with people you admire in one way or another. lose those that end up dragging you down in some part of your life.

you might think that sounds harsh, but think about it for a minute. these are the people that frustrate you more than compliment you. and by compliment, i don’t mean ‘oh my god, you’re having a great hair day!’. i mean they help you achieve something. and that achievement might be having a great hair day.

the ones you leave behind are the ones that distract you and keep you from your goal. your goal may be as simple as just trying to relax and have a good time or it could be to earn $1mill in 2008. no matter what it is, surrounding yourself with people that get what you’re trying to do and are willing to help/participate where they can are the people i call friends. and i saw examples of that this week.

first of all, my friend christine gave me an hour of her time to help me figure out what i need to do about my SEO. she is an SEO copywriter and i am not. my web-turds are supposed to be taking care of it, but that is not necessarily happening.  i called her up and she gave me free SEO tips and helped me understand what the different aspects of SEO meant and their importance. she gave me some great information that made me realize what needed to happen and what i could do on my own, and empowered me to double check what the WT’s were doing. when they decide to do it.  here’s the cool part: christine and i have never met. i came across a blog she wrote for a few months back and we’ve been friends since. she recently started her own blog and it’s one of my top 5.

secondly, i had another unexpected conversation on how to improve durtbagz. the husband went to a business to blogging conference a couple of months back in salt lick city. there he met a woman who blogs about being successful; her name is liz strauss. when i was talking to him about feeling overwhelmed with the marketing and PR that durtbagz was requiring, he suggested i email her. when i heard her name, i thought it sounded familiar. i knew i had heard it mentioned on other blogs, but one in particular stood out. then i realized that christine had interviewed liz a month or so back. i emailed liz that we had a couple of people in common and that i was looking for ways to spread the word about my new company and wasn’t exactly sure where to start. she suggested we talk on the phone and the next day we spoke for an hour. after that conversation, i realized that we were selling the bags in a way that was not making life easier for our visitors. she turned me on to an entirely new way of selling that we’d never thought of before, but made complete sense. this was yesterday at 1p. the website has since been changed to accommodate this new model. and i love it. liz had never even met me before, but took an hour of her day to go over my website with me to see how we might make things easier for potential buyers. amazing. liz has an incredible blog that is for anyone who wants to be successful at life. i suggest you stop by sometime; it will make you feel good.

thirdly, another friend asked me today, ‘how can i help you so that i get to be paid in durtbagz?’. she also happens to be the author of another one of my favorite blogs. even if you have no desire to learn about marketing, you should read her blog for the comedy. it’s like talking to sara silverman. and i love it. we came to a deal that involves durtbagz getting ample exposure on her blog and she gets an ample amount of bags.  seems fair to me. check it out to see what i mean.

lastly, the husband earned his keep this week. he contacted a couple of his PR contacts, asking them if they’d give up a lunch (on him) to give me some free PR advice/feedback on my ideas. and they took him up on it. next week, i’m very excited to get some input/advice from some great people in the industry. all for the price of lunch.

so i guess, i’m saying that you need to surround yourself with people who will work for food and free bagz.

actually, i’d like to hear about stories where you’ve helped somebody out, or received help. it’s contagious; you get it, you want to give it.