Mar 03 2009

Twitter: @LTLprints Twitter Debate

Category: Startup, Thoughtsschoenrock @ 1:57 pm Comments (1)
Image representing Twitter as depicted in Crun...

It won’t come as a surprise that Larger Than Life prints is a big fan of Twitter.  Since LTLprints was a smudged idea on a whiteboard we knew that customer and community interaction was a key part to the success of our company.  Recently there has been some intense debate that has taken place at the Larger Than Life prints headquarters regarding this question, “are we miss managing or under utilizing the @LTLprints twitter account?”

The debate originates with our desire to balance the increased exposure to the company, but also add value. And do so without blatantly self promoting or forcing a hard-sell. We believe the fundamental reason that twitter is powerful is that it adds value to the users.

The way that I normally solve problems like this is to investigate the ways other companies have utilized new technology. Also I seek advice and feedback from others that I respect.  One suggestion was that we should use @LTLprints account to “celebrate our company”.  This includes discussing interesting prints, designs, customers, and lastly, being open about the trials and tribulations of starting a business.  But we also want to hear from you.  How do you manage your company’s Twitter account? What specific goals have you set? How do you interact with your own private account i.e. @Schoenrock and @cpeLTLprints? What advice do you have for @LTLprints?

Update -  We are going to try out @cotweet and see how it goes!

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Feb 12 2009

A Day in the Life of an Entrepreneur

Category: Jobs, Philadelphia, Startupschoenrock @ 1:25 am Comments (3)

7:15 AM - Iphone alarm goes off.  I hit snooze…

7:27 - First read through of email, in bed, on my phone.

7:43 - Made it downstairs to the gym in my building.  Ran 2.6 miles and wailed on my shoulders, bi’s and tris.

8:49 - Fresh and Clean.  1st chat with Carsten regarding daily tasks and goals.

9:16 - Answerd most pressing emails while having breakfast at my desk.

9:24 - Left for Independents Hall to work for the day

9:50 - Settled in at IndyHall and snagged my first cup of coffee.  Spoke to Alex Hillman and David Spears about DreamIT and cool Philly momentum in the startup world.

11:09 - Answered 2 phone calls from headhunters regarding placing their people in a new job opening at LTLprints.

12:40 PM - Finished the first draft of the 1 pager proposal I’m writing for a meeting tomorrow with a local design firm.

1:32 - Snagged another cup of coffee not wanting to take lunch until my proposal is finished.

2:29 - Answered an inbound request for a custom quote.

2:58 - Almost done with the proposal.

3:12 - Sent the proposal to Gloria Bell for proof reading. She rocks at a ton of stuff, by the way.

3:22 - Snagged a slice of Pizza for lunch (negating the hard work on the treadmill this morning).

3:48 - Phone conversation with Carsten regarding production, my final proposal, the design competition, Ben Franklin Technology Partners, Philly Startup Leaders Meetup, and updates on pleased customer feedback.

4:12 - Stopped to thank Gloria for her help and chatted up a some cool new peeps at IndyHall.

4:20 - Read through my twitter stream

4:29 - Setup an e-voting script for the upcoming design competition. It’s going to rock.

4:43 -  Worked with Dallas Shaw to get her designs into the catalog and entered into the design competition.

5:11 - Was invited to dinner at National Mechanics with Gloira Bell some of her friends.

5:39 - Ceaser Salad (due to the late lunch).

6:35 - Left to attend Philly Startup Leaders.  We wanted to be there early as Gloria volunteered to help with sign in.  Did I mention she rocks?

7:15 - Philly Startup Leaders starts cranking and I meet a ton of interesting people.

9:07 - I left a little ealry as I was pretty tired and I wanted to walk home. It’s unusually warm in Philly tonight.

10:15 - Day recap with Carsten and discussing key events for tomorrow.

10:49 - Checked email

11:43 - Wrote blog post while watching a rerun of the witty show The West Wing.

12:14 AM - Contemplated if this post sums up how much I enjoy what I’m doing.

Goodnight all.

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