The Avoid at All Costs List

Business brain, episode 473 for Wednesday, August 9, 2023. Greetings, folks and welcome to Business Brain, the show where we take a topic, or maybe two topics each episode and we analyze them and use them to train our business brains together so that we can all keep living those charmed lives that we value so much. Sponsors for this episode include Zinch, which you can learn about at Financing that Works Dot com. We'll talk more about that in a little bit. For now, here in Durham, New Hampshire, I'm Dave Hamilton.

And still out here in California, I'm Shannon Jean. How was your week going, sir?

My week goes. Yeah, yeah, perfect.

Keep moving forward.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's, you know, sometimes you get derailed and, and have to be productive with things you didn't plan to be productive with. But it's all still, every day productive. That's right. Yes, exactly, exactly. Speaking of being productive, we talked, I don't know, year and a half ago with Jeremy Butcher at Apple about their, at the time, new. That's right, product called Apple Business Essentials. I found out today that Apple Business Essentials is now available directly through cdw. So certainly you can still buy it from Apple directly, of course. But if you're buying a bunch of stuff through cdw, you can buy Apple Business Essentials there. And it, you know, it, it's, it allows you to really easily manage the iPhones, iPads and Macs of all of your employees in a really sort of organic way. And you get two free months doing it through CDW as well.

Yeah, that's pretty cool.

Yeah, it's great. Yeah. Yeah. So I'll put a link in the show notes to not only the thing where you can find it at cdw, but also our interview with Jeremy Butcher talking about it, so you can learn more about it there too. So, yeah, fun stuff. Nice.

Good tidbit.

It is, yeah. I was happy to see that. It's nice to have it available like right at the point of purchase for folks that are just doing it right there. So, yeah, we got an email from listener Robert, who runs a tech company where he helps folks with their smart home stuff. And he said on episode 472, you mentioned a tip on using QR codes to provide value for joining WI fi networks or finding an Instagram page, etc. Reminded me that one of the marketing rules, one of the marketing tools I use, easy for me to say to shorten URLs, can also make QR codes for them. And maybe I should give that A try. But first I want to get your feedback on something. I've been experimenting with doing this and I'm not sure whether it's good or possibly a controversial practice. I use this URL shortener tool, it's called Tiny CC and it's very affordable compared to the bigger ones to track the effectiveness of marketing tools such as ads or email newsletters by assigning unique URLs to the call to action that I put in these things so I can track the source of, of the interactions with the traditional open tracking in email no longer effective. Email open tracking is blocked by many email software systems for privacy reasons now. So you can't easily see, or at least you can't accurately see who has viewed your emails. But tracking URLs allow you to see who is acting on the message by visiting a web page or taking another action. I've been experimenting. He continues saying he's been experimenting by putting unique shortened URLs into messages I send to prospective clients and customers where the interacting interaction starts with an email or text. This allows me to see if they read any supporting materials, a PDF, website pages, or even visit an online calendar booking page to schedule a follow up. So that's interesting. So not just a generic URL that does the redirect and you can see how many people used it, but using one very specifically. Like I've pitched client A on doing this job, create a client a specific URL for whatever your calendar page, whatever it might be, and that way you know, if they've taken an action on that. His question is, do you think this is a legit marketing tool or is this crossing the line into gray hat or even black hat techniques?

Oh, I think every, I, I would say almost every email you pro get from a company or, you know, entity that may want you to do business with is already being tracked in one way or another. So I think it's definitely acceptable.

Yeah. And, and I'm, I am, as a, as a consumer, I'm glad that the email software I use by default, which is Apple's mail, obscures people's ability to tell whether I've simply opened an email or not.

The pixel thing.

Yeah, the pixel track, it's great.

You want to describe what that is?

Yeah. So the idea, and we don't do it on the podcast either, although probably most of the other shows you listen to do. The idea behind what's called pixel tracking is by putting a pixel, and it started with a hidden image pixel, so, and that's why they Call it pixel tracking. If you put a one by one image somewhere, we used to do it on the web. Some people still do it on the web. If you can do it in an email, you can sort of do it in the RSS feed of a podcast. And the idea behind pixeling is it's not a visible pixel. It's usually the same color as the background and it is just one pixel. But by loading that image, and especially if that image, the URL for that image is customized to you as the recipient of that email, they know whether or not you open that email. Because your email client loads that image when the email is opened and not before. What certain vendors like Apple have done is they make it so that when you receive an email, whether or not you open it, all the images are loaded. So all those pixels will fire. And it makes people's open rates look wonderful. So if you think your open rates have been fantastic recently, in the past couple of years, maybe that's why, although most emails, most email service providers are aware of this and sort of filtered out. But, but that, so it's a, it's an interesting, it was a, you know, it's all just a cat and mouse game. Right. And it was a. That's right, a smart hack. Whether it was more ethically sound or not, it certainly from a technological perspective was a smart way of saying, oh, hey, I can figure out if somebody opened this email. And so you can't, you can't do that anymore because the email clients block it. But you can put links in the email where when someone clicks it, you know, if they have clicked that and it that those links are specific to the person to whom the email was sent. So all you're doing, Robert, is manually creating these click tracking links that would automatically be tracked if you were using an email service provider like a mailchimp convert kit, whatever. Yeah. So you're not doing anything different. And I think that if I click on a link, I presume that someone knows I took that action. Whether they do or not, it, you know, is up to them. But that's me taking an action. It's not just me passively reading an email, it's not just me visiting a website. If I am clicking on a link, I know that that's a trackable event. Now does every single human know that? No. But anyone who's concerned about their privacy either does know that or very shortly will know that. Right. So I think what you're doing, Robert, is really smart. It tells you, did someone take an action you don't know whether or not they read the email. You can't know that anymore. But you can know if they took an action and certainly you could do this other ways to. So, you know, I don't think you're doing anything wrong. I think you're being really smart about it because you don't want to waste your time following up with clients who aren't interested. So if you send them three emails to schedule and they've never even clicked a schedule link for you that tells you they're not, they're not running into some tech problem with your scheduling system that they tried but couldn't. Right. Like there's all kinds of things you can infer from whether or not someone clicks a link. So I think, I think you're doing the right thing.

Yeah. One quick comment on it is that I have some concerns about URL shorteners is especially an email is that I think a lot of people are being taught especially by like our banks and, and other service providers always double check links before you click on them. You know, phishing scams and that kind of thing. So I, I don't know if there's a way that you can create that link so people feel confident that hey, it's going to me or whatever. Just, you know, I think that might be a little bit of a concern. Using some of these unknown URL shorteners people may look at and go, I don't know if I can click on this link.

I'm not sure fair. It's. If you embed the link though, like, yes, like attach it to text. Most people won't necessarily look at what is this? You know, if you say yeah, visit my scheduling software and then yeah, that's.

Yeah, it's not like a bank.

Yeah, then I think you'll probably be okay. But that's a fair point. Yeah, that's a, that's a, it's a fair point just to, to know that some people might choose to avoid that. All right, look, as small business owners, we all know that these unexpected costs can arise at any time. The good news is our sponsor Zinch understands that the unexpected is an expected part of running a. So why wait around for a sudden impact to your business? Check out Zinch today to see how you can become prepared and stay prepared. And that's because Zinch is a direct lender tailored to small and medium sized businesses like ours that makes loans simple, fast and flexible and can approve up to 250k in under two days. When you partner with zinge. You won't have to wait months for a traditional bank loan. So whether you're dealing with, you know, some burst pipe or lightning struck and like ruined some machinery, or another big bill you didn't expect, or the costs that come from expanding your workforce, Zinch can help you with what you need when you need it. Their specialists work with you and help you choose the best solutions for your needs. And there are no commissions or third party approvals. So Zinch can give you better rates, faster approvals, and keep your information secure. Don't wait for an emergency. Apply today with Zinch and for a limited time, Zinch is waiving application fees for all our listeners of Business Brain here, that's a $250 value. Just for minutes of your time, go straight to this special URL, financing that works.com Again, the URL is financing that works.com loans made or arranged pursuant to a California Finance Lender's Law License. And our thanks to Zinch for sponsoring this episode. While we have you here, I've got a great recommendation for a show. When it comes to Apple, these folks know what they're talking about. Leo Laporte of the Twit Network bought his first Mac over 40 years ago in 1994 and has been an Apple lover ever since. That's probably why they have three, not one, not two, but three Apple podcasts on the Twit Podcast network. The oldest, of course, is MacBreak Weekly, started almost 20 years ago. Alex Lindsey, Andy Inotko, Jason Snell and Leo talk about all the latest Apple news. They are Apple fans, but not Apple fanboys. They call it as they say it, and sometimes they're even a little hard on Apple. They also do a show called iOS Today with Micah Sargent and Rosemary Orchard. And if you're into iPads, iPhones, Apple Watches, or Apple TV, you'll love iOS today. And then of course, there's Hands on Mac Inside tips from Micah Sargent on getting the most out of your Mac every week, expert analysis, helpful advice, and entertaining discussions. Go to Twit TV Apple to find your next favorite Apple podcast. And our thanks to Leo and the team for doing this swap with us. All right, Shannon, you found this tweet from Blake Burge that go ahead and summarize it for us. I love the idea of this.

Yeah, yeah, me too. This is a concept. It sounds kind of weird, but we talk about this kind of stuff all the time. But this is all about creating an avoid at all costs lists. A list. And so apparently he's Kind of wrapping it in a conversation between Warren Buffett and his pilot, you know, that kind of thing, whether this happened or not. But it's a good, good anecdote. And where Buffett recommended, hey, list your top 25 things that you want to do over the next few years or maybe even in your. In your lifetime. And out of that 25, you pick, pick your top five. And Buffett, you know, said, hey, now, now you gotta make a plan. How are you gonna start working on this stuff? What do you need? Who do you en all this kind of stuff. And of course, you know, Blake Post, hey, this should be now. There should be no delays. You shouldn't put, you know, anything in front of it.

Right.

But the, the interesting part is that after you picked your top five, Buffett asks him, hey, so what are you going to do with the other, you know, other things on the list, the other 20? And the guy kind of, you know, waffled back and forth, forth according to the story and said, well, I guess I'll kind of dip in and out of those, work on them intermittently as I have time. And this is where Buffett says, hey, you've got it all wrong. Everything that's not in those time, top five should be your avoid at all cost list. No matter what, those things get no attention until you've succeeded with your top five. And I thought this was really interesting. I'm, of course, all about focus and, you know, getting away from the myth of multitasking that we've discussed here on the show before and really figuring out a plan and systems to nail that top five. And I'd love to dig in a little bit more, get your opinion on that.

I love this idea because it's really easy to follow. What conventional wisdom would lead us to follow the pilot's thought of? Well, I mean, those 20, those other 20 things are obviously still important. So I need to do those whenever I can. Right. And, and, and maybe zooming out, one could say that Buffett's advice is that, right, it's do those whenever you can. But his definition of whenever you can is only after the top five are completed and checked off your list and done. Right. There's no in between time to work on anything other than the top five.

Yeah, and I think that's crucial. You know, we talk a lot about focus, and then I always, you know, I love this concept of revenue stacks, you know, developing different streams of income, but you do have to be careful of this squirrel. And then falling in love with ideas can be really problematic. And I have this problem too, where you start working, you're moving down the road on one project, and all of a sudden something on the side start going, hey, this is an amazing idea that you have over here. Maybe you should put a little bit of your. Oh, you've got extra time. Maybe you should focus on this. And in my case, it's like, start a new business, launch a new product, you know, whatever. That can be really destructive for keeping focused on these. These. Whether it's your top five or whatever project that you're involved in. And I think it's great. And I love this, being obsessive about these five things. You know, we always talk about, like, the niche, you know, the riches are in the niches. Yeah, this is it. You know, focus on these things, but don't cut yourself off. It's not like he's saying, well, once you get these five things done, you can't do anything else.

Right.

This is. This is it. If you knock one off the list, then go ahead and move one up, you know, from your other 20, I think it's great. I really like this idea.

Yeah, the idea. The thing that. That jumped out to me. Well, two things was the idea of focus. Right. Like, that whole concept is key. But what I really liked about this was being ruthless with your priorities. Because I've always. I love the word ruthless. Not when dealing with other people. I've actually done quite well in my career by not being ruthless with other humans, but being ruthless with my own time and my own focus. It really is something that I am happy to. To do. And I like the word ruthless for that because reminds me that there is no wiggle room there. Right. It's. You have to keep pushing on those things. And I think that's really important. Yeah, it is.

In keeping you, you know, going on these. Okay, I've got these five things. These are my projects. Whatever it. You know, one of the commenters in the. Actually was David Morris commented on this that we just had on the show.

Yeah, yeah.

He's like, you know, I recently heard someone comment that what makes pro athletes great is what they're willing not to do or what they're willing to not do. Whenever you look at it. And it's like the Steve Job things, you know, the power of saying no.

The power of saying no. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. They said. He proudly proclaimed. And many of the folks that worked with him said the same thing. That they said no to more things than they said yes to. In fact, it was it, you Know, saying yes to something was very rare and very carefully considered because they knew that they have limited time and limited resources to work on this stuff. And that, you know, that was certainly true.

Yeah.

When Apple was. Yeah, was. It's true of all of us. Right. Like, you know, and even now, I mean, Apple's, you know, at any given point in time, the largest company in the world. Right, right. And yet I think they still live by this idea of saying no to far more things than they say yes to. I would argue they've said yes to more things than Steve would have were he still around. I can't say that for certain, but having watched Apple pre and, you know, before Steve left and after Steve left, there's a little bit of focus. There is a different type of focus at Apple now.

There is, yeah, for sure.

But, but they're still a very focused company. I mean, I'm nitpicking here, but in general. Yeah, very focused company.

The one thing I would add about this, this list and avoid it all cost list is that these five things, you know, you really should look at it because maybe, you know, you should put some smaller things on that five that, so you could have that habit of success starting. So you could like, okay, hey, out of these five, you know, three of them are, are pretty significant.

Sure.

Maybe, maybe a couple of them I'm going to be able to knock out in the next, whatever, 90 days, you know, six months, whatever your timeline is. Yeah, but I think it's important, you know, it comes down to this goals versus system thing. If, if you have these big lofty things out there, it's easy to feel like you're failing because you can't hit them fast enough or whatever. But if you get some things in there that get you comfortable and oh yeah, look, I knocked one thing off the list. I can add another one. I did something else. It just, I think that that helps you. It's like that. I'm not a big fan of this term, but this baby step kind of thing. Yeah, I think, you know, Dave Ramsey flips it on its head with debt. He says, you know, the debt snowball program, you should start by paying off your smallest people that you owe money to first creditors, you know, that kind of thing. So because it just kind of helps you get in the mode and of.

Yeah, you have little wins.

Yeah, small wins. Small wins are really powerful. So out of that five, you know, don't put every life goal you have in there. Give yourself an opportunity to, to get some successes under your belt because that's going to help you move up the list and. And make. Make progress on the other 20.

That's correct. Yeah. Yeah, I like it. Good stuff.

Yeah. Let us know what you think of this, this list thing out there, you know. Feedbackusinessbrain show. Talk to us. Get entered to win a MacBook like Robert did and enjoy the rest of your week.

Absolutely. Yeah. Folks, thanks again. That's FeedbackusinessBrain Show. Send in your thoughts, your comments, your questions. We love it. And keep living that charm life together, huh? See you next time.