Overstock.com Shhhits!! Not quite but I love this subject line from Overstock.com that says “Shhh! It’s a Secret Sale”. Now if you glance it quickly or say it quickly it’s like saying “Shits a Secret Sale”.  I think it’s pretty funny and this is not the first time they’ve used this subject line.

When it comes to urls and subjects lines be careful not to create a phrase or word that you don’t mean accidentally. This reminds me of a list of urls I heard of a while back that are hilarious when you read them that were completely unintentional. Yes, yes I found it and posted it below. Hope you get a chuckle from it.

The top 10 unintentionally worst company URLs

Attn: Entrepreneurs
Everyone knows that if you are going to operate a business in today’s world you need a domain name. It is advisable to look at the domain name selected as other see it and not just as you think it looks. Failure to do this may result in situations such as the following (legitimate) companies who deal in everyday humdrum products and services but clearly didn’t give their domain names enough consideration:

1. A site called ‘Who Represents‘ where you can find the name of the agent that represents a celebrity. Their domain name… wait for it… is www.whorepresents.com
2. Experts Exchange, a knowledge base where programmers can exchange advice and views at www.expertsexchange.com
3. Looking for a pen? Look no further than Pen Island at www.penisland.net
4. Need a therapist? Try Therapist Finder at www.therapistfinder.com
5. Then of course, there’s the Italian Power Generator company…www.powergenitalia.com
6. And now, we have the Mole Station Native Nursery, based in New South Wales: www.molestationnursery.com
7. If you’re looking for computer software, there’s always www.ipanywhere.com
8. Welcome to the First Cumming Methodist Church. Their website is www.cummingfirst.com
9. Then, of course, there’s these brainless art designers, and their whacky website: www.speedofart.com
10. Want to holiday in Lake Tahoe? Try their brochure website at www.gotahoe.com

Source: Independent Sources http://independentsources.com/2006/07/12/worst-company-urls/

My favorite one is speedofart.com but they’re all pretty damn funny. You can see how your domain name or subject line could turn into a disaster. Anyone want to go to penisland.com for some pens?

The company looks like it ran smoothly while I was gone and that’s because I have some kick ass partners. I know there were some server problems along with other minor issues during my hiatus so I want to thank all my partners for managing the problems. Like Adam said in his Bon Voyage Mike post we have systems in place that allowed me to be away for a prolong period without too much internet access.

We have solid systems in place to manage a temporary absent partner and with me being gone it has proven itself to work. We have a very transparent company from within and we are cross trained to the extent where at least one partner can fulfill the duties of another partner satisfactorily or better.

In my case before I left all my work was front loaded because of the lack of internet access during my trip. Here’s a quick and dirty version of my vacation preparation list before my departure.

• List my absolute duties
• Plan out upcoming promotions till I return
• Prepare upcoming promotions and set them up in our automated systems
• Create contingency promotions and graphics
• Delegate my duties to my partners and distribute the workload
• Document any processes that aren’t used by my partners on a regular basis
• Teach any processes that my partners don’t do on a regular basis
• Forward emails to appropriate person
• Update my personal voicemail

My return was heralded by my many fans (that was only in my head though) but everything seemed to have worked smoothly while I was gone and I’m confident that our company will be fine with anyone of us being away for an extended period of time. Many thanks to my partners for giving me the opportunity to take the trip to China and I will be ready to cover for them when they need it.

I’m back and ready to kick ass and make heads roll. Everyone enjoy their July 4th weekend celebrating our great nation’s independence.

Locker Pulse began as a side project that Adam was working on but now it has become our next major business venture at Pure Adapt. Read more about the conception of LockerPulse on Adam’s blog.

The design process has begun and I’m very excited to be involved in this unique venture into sports with the design ideas that we have. Take a sneak peek at what we have so far on the LockerPulse splash page and if you sign up now you’ll receive a special offer on launch. In the LockerPulse design we hope to bring users a better way to stay connected with their favorite sports teams through usability and simplicity with some badass aesthetics.

Starting with this unique design concept that we have really gives me an opportunity to push my design skills to the next level. Speaking of design, I want to say how much I hate IE for the umpteenth time, because it renders everything like crap. Now getting off that topic I’ll be using resources like Smashing Magazine for inspiration to get my design juices flowing and inject them into LockerPulse. The design is coming along and I can’t wait till we unveil it to the world in May.

LockerPulse is coming 5.1.2010! Sign up today to get a special offer when it goes public.

It’s been just about 2 years since Tastefully Driven was launched in April 2008 and sadly to say it’s not working out for us and it will be closing down for good on March 1, 2010.

Why close down?

• Streamlines our warehouse and shipping processes
• Eliminates the cumbersome Amazon sales
• Lack of resources to make Tastefully Driven successful
• Focus on the growth of Detailed Image
• Opens up opportunities for new non ecommerce projects
• Amazon customers we get have no loyalty

The bottom line right now is that Tastefully Driven requires too many resources for a minimum profitability. There were big hopes for Tastefully Driven but unfortunately the resources just weren’t there to really do what we wanted to. Every time I go to the site I’m a little bit surprise on how great the site was developed but this is the best decision.

I personally like the decision to go less ecommerce because we’re in this vicious perpetual cycle of debt because of how retail works. As we grow we will need more inventory, which cost more money up front, which will continue to happen over and over till you max out your growth and profits are put towards debt and that’s not even including any expansion to new products. My view is that this cycle won’t stop for a while and this year we hope get more into self sustainable sites that make us money like a Sports Lizard or our new WoodyPaigeQuotes.com which should generate some ad money.

Overall this was a pretty simple decision for us to make as we always review what we do in our business and make the necessary changes. This is what I love about the business that my partners and I have created, is the fact that we have the flexibility to do what is needed and what we want to do.

Good bye Tastefully Driven! CLOSING SALE – 30% OFF EVERYTHING

Everyone involved in the tour was a pleasure to meet right from the get go. Zappos offers complimentary shuttle service to and from Zappos headquarters and we were picked up in the Zappos Escalade.

In the lobby displays the pair of shoes that started it all. When Nick Swinmurn was unsuccessful in finding a pair of shoes in store and online it lead to the start of Zappos.com.

The Zappos name tag ball named Lucille of the many people who’ve taken the tour.

Our first look into the offices and to the right you can get a glimpse of our guide Heaven, yes her name is Heaven.

A live sales map of products being purchased throughout the US.  In another part of the office they also had about four big screens with live web analytics, which was crazy to watch.

Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh’s office.  Zappos has an open office policy and employees can basically see anyone they want.

The rest of the tour included visiting various departments throughout the building.

In the  fraud department we had the opportunity to speak to one of the employees there and learn how they dealt with fraudulent charges and charge backs.  We have had our share of charge backs and fraud and it was great to see how Zappos prevents the situation from happening.

In the HR department we learned about their recruiting process and how they offer a buy out of $2000 to potential employees after they finish training to weed out those that don’t really want to work there. The recruiting department also spoke about the importance fitting into the culture and Zappos’ core values.

Zappo Core Values

1. Deliver WOW Through Service
2. Embrace and Drive Change
3. Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
5. Pursue Growth and Learning
6. Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
8. Do More With Less
9. Be Passionate and Determined
10. Be Humble

Throughout the tour you can see the unique culture that Zappos has built and how much it stresses the importance of customer service.  The work environment is a fun and inviting one where everyone knows everyone. While I was there, I’m pretty sure I was almost hit by a Nerf gun lol. Even though the atmosphere may seem lax, employees are hard at work and take responsibility for what needs to be done.

The tour rounded up with a visit to Dr. Vik’s office, where I got sit on the throne where at Zappos I’m royalty. Dr. Vik is the resident coach at Zappos who helps employees be successful in personal and business matters so that they can perform at high levels and provide excellence in service.  Zappos really takes care of their people and it really shows through as you make your way through the offices.

The tour ended back in the lobby where everyone received a Zappos Culture Book and a complimentary book  from the Zappos library.  The books are there to inspire the “Power of Service” and I’m pretty sure that they said Tony Hsieh has read all the books there.

Thanks to everyone at Zappos for the amazing tour.  Special thanks to Renna, our guide Heaven, the Mayor, Pam, Dr. Vik and anyone else I may have forgotten for the great tour.

]]> http://www.michael-li.com/my-zappos-tour/2009/11/10/feed/ 0 http://www.michael-li.com/zappos-here-i-come/2009/11/04/ http://www.michael-li.com/zappos-here-i-come/2009/11/04/#comments Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:39:34 +0000 Michael Li http://www.michael-li.com/?p=964

I wrote about going to the SEMA Show earlier and while I’m out there I will also be visiting Zappos Headquarters. I have an exciting day ahead of me tomorrow with the SEMA Show and Zappos tour.

Zappos is a very unique e-commerce company that has built a culture with happiness as a key. CEO Tony Hsieh has created fascinating and successful culture over at Zappos. After reading a great article in Inc. Magazine about Tony Hsieh it was hard to pass on the opportunity visit their headquarters.

The tour is free and they even offer complimentary shuttle services to their office. It took me a while to find information on the tour but after a bit of searching I finally found a contact form specifically for the tour or I think you can email them from what I read from other people’s visits there. They recommend you make a reservation 48 hours in advance so you could set up a tour on the fly if you’re out in Vegas.

I’m looking forward to seeing a successful e-commerce company at work and hopefully learn a few things. This is going to be a great experience and I look forward to writing about my adventures in Vegas.

In less than 2 weeks my partner George and I will be heading to Las Vegas for SEMA Show 2009. The SEMA Show is the premiere automotive specialty products show in the world. I’ve always wanted to go to SEMA but didn’t think there be any opportunity because it’s a trade show. Anyways the opportunity has arise since I am part of Detailed Image now and I can’t wait to go.

Check it out, I have my very own badge.

We will be buyers at the show and have the opportunity to see all the up and coming new automotive products. Hot cars and new technology, that’s some gooooood stuff!

Not only do I get to go to one of the world’s premiere car shows, I also get to go to Sin City and escape the chilling Northeast for a few days. It should be some good times and a great new experience. I will definitely be posting an update when I return, so stay tuned.

What is Z.ips.ME you say? Z.ips.ME is a little open source program that my business partner Adam came up with that lets you create your own URL shortening service.

Simple to use and easy to install, Z.ips.ME gives you control of your URLs. I think it took me less than 10 minutes to get everything set it up. Follow the 5 installation steps and you’ll be golden. The installation process is just like WordPress.

Key benefits of Z.ips.ME:

• URL naming control with keywords. (i.e. I twittered about Jet Blue’s unlimited flying for $599 using my very own shortened link http://www.michael-li.com/zipsme/JetBlue)
• Peace of mind that your URLs are safe from being dead links because the service you used closed down.
• Private admin system with robust statistics with clicks, referring sites, browsers, and operating systems.
• Branding your own domain.

Don’t know how to do the installation or just don’t want to, Z.ips.ME does offer a installation services if you contact them.

This is one of the many little projects that I hope Pure Adapt, Inc will continue to develop.  We have tons of ideas.  While developing these little projects, hopefully we hit a couple more like Sports Lizard and HotteeeZ.  Those twos sites make some decent money for very little amount of work.  Minimal work and maintenance equaling continuous income is a no brainer, I think.  Like Adam said about projects that don’t pan out, ” If not, there’s really no loss for us and we can just try some more until something works. How fun is that?“  That’s the truth, these are not high risk projects that we’re taking on and it’s fun as H E double hockey sticks.

Back on to Z.ips.ME.  If you’re looking for your very own URL shortening service Z.ips.Me is simple to use and gets the job done.  Check out the Z.ips.Me for more information and screen shots.

Hiring has been a big issue in recent meetings and we’ve taken the approach of starting with a part timer.  We weighed all the pros and cons with all the other hiring options and selecting the part timer route gave us owners the most flexibility to keep our current work lifestyle without much change.  At the same time we’ve become so much more efficient throughout the past year, a part timer is the right fit.  Plus deciding on a part timer keeps things much, much more simpler from the legal and corporate stand point.

Number 5 has arrived at Pure Adapt, Inc. and he has made a big difference.  I welcome John to the Pure Adapt team.  It’s only been 2 weeks since John has been here and he’s already made a world of difference for all of us.   So far everything has worked out great.  He’s a hard worker and quick learner and that’s all we can ask for at the moment because he has relieved pressure from all of us.  Really it’s only been 2 weeks and knowing that I won’t have to do hours of warehouse work is a huge relief.

Wow our first employee! I’m still a little shocked when I take a step back and look at everything we’ve done in the past few years including our very own warehouse space and now an employee.

It’s always monumental when  you have the biggest day ever in sales and yesterday was the biggest by far.   We ran a huge 25% off sale at DetailedImage.com and it was successful beyond what I thought it would be.

Unfortunately we had some site problems when Adam was away but we were able to handle the situation and figure out what the problem was without anything catastrophic happening.

I was in contact with our server company all day and I have to compliment LiquidWeb for the fantastic service they provided. LiquidWeb’s support was first class and I couldn’t ask for anything more.  They monitored the issue throughout the day and figured out what was causing the problem.

It’s freaking awesome to see all the work we’ve put in is paying off.  This is an exciting time as we enter this growth phase and we’re only going to getting better from here, this is just the beginning.