Happy Friday,
I hope this week has gone well for everyone. Here at Dunsel's we have had a fairly exciting week. Before I get into it, I just want to express that this log will probably be a more accurate representation of what I imagined they would be... Now that there has been some background introduction in the first post, the topics for each log will revolve around week to week developments.
To kick it off, I'll start with Domi Station. There have been a few developments surrounding our presence and relationship with Tallahassee’s finest business incubator. First and foremost, the Dunsel team was granted the Student Scholarship Award! We are very grateful to everyone at Domi, and all of those who made this opportunity possible. We have been attending meetings over the past few weeks that have ranged from presentations on pitching, legal advice for startups, to one on one meetings with Domi’s very talented personnel (shoutout to Robert and Harlee) and the extensive mentor network that Domi offers to its members (shoutout to Julia Holly).
On Monday I met with Robert and Harlee, and we evaluated some of the strategies we could employ to achieve our goals for the year. To sum it up, we need to be shouting. Shouting as loud as we can, to the broadest audience we can reach. This transitioned to a conversation about digital strategy, and how to use tools like social media, affiliate marketing, and the internet at large. I have some personal reserves about the effects of social media on modern society, and as such I have worked over the past year to remove myself from the different platforms. The business application of these tools, however, is undeniable. It is because of these personal reserves that I hesitate with the idea of making a… Tik Tok… Despite this, I am willing to put aside my hesitations and work with the team to go for it. So… look out for our… Tik Toks. The funny thing is I have always wanted to direct a movie or a short film. Maybe it has all been leading up to this.
We are shifting some of our focus to growing our audience as rapidly as possible. This will entail a lot more time spent planning out our social media, and working on creating content that is engaging, valuable, and interesting. We have been using Facebook’s social media calendar for most of our planning, but we are now thinking about shifting to platforms like Hootsuite, or other dedicated content planning software. If any of our wonderful readers have experience with such software, please let us know about your experience in the comments below. Part of this shift in focus is due to some of the feedback we have received. We are very proud of the presence we have worked to establish, but it’s hard to contradict the numbers. The numbers say that we haven’t been converting to sales as we had been during the holiday season (sort of expected), but we want this number to be better.
That’s a lot, but that’s what Domi does. We have access to such valuable, and informed perspectives which do incredible things to help us frame our goals.
We also have made some progress in the business entity department, and we will have made some more headway on the behind the scenes stuff thanks to the connections afforded by The Jim Moran College.
What else…?
Will and I spent the afternoon on Wednesday rearranging the furniture in his lovely, Tallahassee ranch. We had previously been working in the smaller of the rooms in his house which we affectionately called “The Sweatshop.” Since we moved the machine, and materials into the larger of the available rooms, The Sweatshop will henceforth be known as “The Office.” This space includes a hand-me-down printer, A Home Depot whiteboard, the 1970-something Singer sewing machine, and a whole bunch of sails.
One more thing before I wrap this up. Dr. Jeff Whalen, a professor I have had the pleasure of taking classes with in the JMC, gave us some wise words before our Data Science in Entrepreneurship class this past Thursday morning. Citing Billy Joel’s The River of Dreams, we began class talking about the things that keep us, as entrepreneurs, up at night. Dr. Whalen coined (I think) the philosophy “Reality as perception” which fired more than a few neurons and connections in my head. This brief conversation stuck with me for the day and allowed me the space to reflect on my goals as an entrepreneur. My efforts in life, school, and in ventures past and present have every bit to do with the ability to design a life for myself. Although there are many moments of haze, especially during such curious times, it is, and will continue to be my motivation. I have a hard time putting that to words sometimes, but it’s nuggets of wisdom like this that remind me why.
Have a great weekend.
- Jon