Andrew Warner, Founder of Mixergy.com

A few weeks ago, I posted an article on BIG blog mentioning my assignment to interview successful men.  Today, Friday, May 29th at 11:00 AM PDT, I will be interviewing Andrew Warner, a young, super star entrepreneur, and Founder of Mixergy.com The interview will run live on the Mixergy site.

I surf business sites daily.  However, Mixergy.com sucked me in on the first click.  It’s an amazing collection of interviews, tips, shared secrets and how-to’s for entrepreneurs and anyone hoping to increase their business knowledge and revenue.  Andrew says he created the site for ambitious people to learn from experienced entrepreneurs.  Seems like a perfect match for the BIG Blog demographic!

While Mixergy is a virtual smorgasbord of information, I found very little information about Andrew Warner himself; such as how he launched (and sold) a $30+ MM business.  I am honored he is gracing me with an interview so we can learn more about him and how he has become so hugely successful.

Join us today to learn more about this amazing Man, his Mission and of course, his Style!

-Lisa

Lisa Bruckner is a consultant for Trunk Club – a revolutionary way for men to buy clothing.  She writes for two men’s blogs: Wasabi Nights and The Trunk Club Blog and spent twelve years in the research sector before switching gears to follow her passion for fashion.
Trunk Club
Wasabi Nights
Twitter

I’ve discovered a controversy over blog comments.  Of the many, “helpful tips” I’ve read online for how to be a successful blogger, a common theme emerges.  Invite comments.  Include your readers.  Help them be interactive.  Look at any hugely popular blog, let’s use The Sartorialist for example (one of my favorites), and you may see the comments number in the double digits for each and every post.  This can be intimidating for the new blogger.  However, I decided to heed the online advice and attempt to help my readers become more interactive and generate comments.

Working in the research industry for over a decade, I thought an online survey would be just the thing.  A month or so ago, I asked my readers to comment or email me their idea of what business casual was and to give me some basic demographic info (geographic location and their business industry).  I also requested this info from my Facebook friends and posted it twice on Twitter.  The results were astonishing; I didn’t receive a single comment or email.  I was crushed.  I deleted the post 30 hours later in fear that people would see I didn’t receive a single comment.  As someone who loves to host parties, it was as if my biggest fear had finally materialized: no one showed up!

How important are comments?  I didn’t really know.  Did the lack of response mean no one read my blog?  How could that be when I am consistently stopped by people in our community expressing how much they enjoy my blog or a particular post.  I receive emails and tweets from complete strangers thanking me for my blog and I see and hear my recommendations put to use daily.   However, I have received, to date, a whopping nine comments on my entire blog since it’s inception on March 24.  Interestingly,  instead of published comments, I more commonly receive a direct email from someone essentially making a comment (or asking for my fashion advice).  However, this doesn’t really “count” in the public’s eyes unless I post it as a comment directly on the blog.  I don’t usually do this since it seems disrespectful to their direct, private approach.

The answer to this mystery came from a post written by Mathew Scott on Strategic Incubator. His insight released the monkey of doubt from my shoulders and this particular quote hit home for me:

In my own personal experience, I have little success in building a community of readers who decide to comment on my blog posts. However, I’ve been very successful in converting my readers into clients or paid customers.

–Mathew Scott, Strategic Incubator April 10, 2009.

Blogging is an unusual feeling for the unseasoned blogger.  You feel a bit naked posting yourself out for the world to see.  No matter how self confident you think you are, blogging can bring out your deepest insecurities.  I wonder if this ever goes away.  Do hugely successful bloggers still have these feelings of insecurity?  I am curious to know the answer.

I no longer base my blog’s worth on comments thanks to Mathew Scott.  When I do receive a comment, it’s an unexpected surprise and I am like a child opening a present with delight!

Back to the survey again: I have since learned about the free, online services of polldaddy and plan to try it on my site in the future.  I promise to keep it simple and will ask a provocative question to entice readers to participate.  I’ll let you know how it goes.  Secretly, I will admit, I am still a little nervous no one will show up to my party.

-Lisa

Lisa Bruckner is a consultant for Trunk Club – a revolutionary way for men to buy clothing.  She writes for two men’s blogs: Wasabi Nights and The Trunk Club Blog and spent twelve years in the research sector before switching gears to follow her passion for fashion.
Trunk Club
Wasabi Nights
Twitter

As a new blogger, who in all honesty, never read a blog before, I made many classic mistakes. The first few posts on my men’s blog were simply text, as I didn’t yet understand the importance of images. I kept them short and simple, and gave them a catchy male-enticing title like Hot and Bothered and The G-Spot. What I didn’t initially realize is that search engines use the post title to direct readers to your blog. My titles were probably getting linked to porno searches! I learned it’s better to write titles that clearly describe the content. Boring, yes, but more effective in reaching your targeted audience. In hindsight, I am laughing at the audacity of my first two blog titles! I am a fun person, but not that fun!

Images are very important. I noticed that a catchy image made a big difference in blog traffic. People gave me regular feedback and the consensus was my images grab their attention and draw them into the text. I understand this better as a viewer, now that I read hundreds of blog posts each week. The Internet is an endless sea of text. It’s the images that provide an anchor and help us stay focused.

I love to write and thankfully, it comes easily. At this point, I have a seemingly endless list of ideas for new posts. The dark cloud you are sensing is the hours and hours I spend trying to find the right images to go with each post. I currently have a collection of complete blog posts that are relevant, and ready to go with the exception that I gave up on the search for “the right picture.”

While trying to find a “better way,” I decided to try and capture images impromptu on real men I see in public or through men I know. This was another interesting learning experience.

The first time I stopped a man, I was so nervous, I didn’t even mention my blog’s name and just snapped a quick photo of his shoes after asking his permission. What I learned from him was I need context in the photo to help illustrate my point. I liked his vintage sneakers and his leaner denim hem line. However, I needed to capture his entire outfit (neck to toes) to demonstrate how good he looked and why. I also learned most men are flattered to be asked by a woman if she can take a photo of his clothing!

The next time I did better. I took two full body shots and got the man’s email address so I could send him a link to the site to see his fame and glory. However, I learned full body shots alone weren’t good enough. I also needed close ups to illustrate my points. The third time, I got it all right, including a short interview.

In hindsight, I realized I wasn’t applying my previous research experience and expertise to my new position. Interviewing, assessing and photographing people in a research setting is second nature to me. I just had to remind myself I was doing essentially the same thing for a different reason. Now, I’m confident (no more embarrassed pink cheeks!), and I have a growing team of Lady Detectives working for me who know what images I want and are happy to help me capture them “in the field.”

My latest assignment is from the CEO and founder of Trunk Club; Joanna Van Vleck. She asked me to share all of my blog posts from Wasabi Nights with the Trunk Club Blog. I am honored and inspired to take my blogging to the next level. Starting this week, I plan to find and interview successful business men to feature what they wear and why. I want to know what successful men in different business sectors are wearing right now, down to the minor details; like what brand of undershirt they prefer. Where do they buy their clothing? How do they feel about their clothing style? What influence or impact do they feel their appearance and clothing choices have had on their current success. Hopefully these men will be gracious and share a few minutes with me. Ideally they will allow me to take a photo or two to include with the article. I will let you know how it goes.

If you know a successful man you’d like me to interview (perhaps its you), I welcome your suggestions and contacts. As for you successful men out there, if I contact you for an interview, please recognize it for what it is; a compliment.

-Lisa

Lisa Bruckner is a consultant for Trunk Club – a first class service which revolutionizes the way men buy clothing. She writes for two men’s blogs: Wasabi Nights and The Trunk Club Blog and spent twelve years in the research sector before switching gears to follow her passion for fashion.
Trunk Club
Wasabi Nights
Twitter

We’re very excited to welcome Lisa Bruckner as a guest author on the Business in General Blog.  As you’ll read below, Lisa is starting a new business as a consultant for the fast growing business The Trunk Club, based in Bend Oregon.  We’re looking forward to hearing about Lisa’s journey as she starts and grows her business!  ~’Chelle Parmele

After a parenting-induced sabbatical, I rejoined the business world as a Certified Trunk Club Consultant.  It’s an exciting prospect since I love the work I do.  Working from home and the flexibility to make my own hours is downright ideal.  It’s a right turn from my previous work-a-holism in the research sector for twelve years, but it’s a perfect match for my love of fashion and my people skills.

Starting a new home business was unexpectedly overwhelming for me.  This may sound naïve, but I thought it would be simple in comparison to starting up a new research grant.  However, I found myself spinning after I purchased a Blackberry, iMac (I’ve been a PC gal for over two decades) and a printer-fax-copier monstrosity, all within a four day period. Don’t laugh yet.  With the help of my loving husband, I also joined and created profiles in Twitter, TweetDeck, LinkedIn, Facebook, and TypePad (and realized my husband’s help came at the cost that most were created with passwords only he remembered).  On day five, I launched my new men’s blog: Wasabi Nights and simultaneously began my rigorous training to become a Certified Trunk Club Consultant.

It was like learning how to speak seven new languages all at once in addition to retaining a massive amount of information I was learning from Trunk Club corporate through webinars, reading material and online research.  Our home life was reduced to DIY meals and laundry basket diving.

I am learning first hand the simple things; like how helpful Twitter can be, and its limitations.  I am surprised to discover how effective Facebook is for direct communication, far beyond the power of email.  I love the simplicity and ease free webcam based services like Skype and Tokbox allow me to communicate with people who would otherwise skim, skip or forget my emails and calls.  Blogging is an exhausting and time consuming experience but by far the most fun method of communication.  I learn daily from my blogging experience and can’t wait to perfect it (if that is truly possible in such a dynamic, virtual world).

I have learned so much in the past five weeks and I am excited to share my hard earned pearls of wisdom, struggles and discoveries.  I look forward to sharing more in-depth details about specific topics soon.

Lisa Bruckner is a consultant for Trunk Club – a first class service which revolutionizes the way men buy clothing.  She writes for two men’s blogs: Wasabi Nights and The Trunk Club Blog and spent twelve years in the research sector before switching gears to follow her passion for fashion.
Trunk Club Consultant
Wasabi Nights
Twitter