HomeSnoloha

Have you heard of Life is good? If not, you should check ‘em out. It’s an amazing brand with a great story.

It’s also a brand that is constantly trying to be duplicated, emulated, copied and ripped off. It is now a very BIG company with ginormous distribution and market share. They are successful. People want to be like them. So they try and replicate it with lazy attempts of blatant “Life is good” style designs, slogans and sayings.

This drives me crazy. They have been building this brand for more than 15 years. It did not happen over night. But for some reason, people think they can piggy back off their success and become the “next Life is good.”

The thing is, there is no such thing as the “next Life is good.” Just as there is no such thing as the “next Michael Jordan” (they’ve been trying to label players with that for years…remember Harold Miner, aka “baby Jordan”?).

Life is good tapped into something powerful. Life is good is a genuine brand with a genuine story….which is what it’s imitators lack. You want a successful brand…be genuine.

But people don’t seem to want to take the longer, harder route of creating their own legacy or successful brand. I’m not a very patient person, just ask my wife. I can’t stand the wait in a restaurant, lines at the store, big crowds or the 2 minutes it takes to reheat left-overs in the microwave. This probably explains why I love escaping on a sailboat, a ski hill, the beach or the woods…peaceful and therapeutic.

However, I have learned that in order to grow Snoloha into the global brand that I have envisioned…it is going to take patience. Snoloha is still a very, very small brand. It’s not even a speck on the global brand map. Snoloha will be 3 years old in February. It’s still a toddler with a lot to learn and a long way from being fully mature.

I have to step back and remind myself of this every now and then. I have several brands that I watch very closely and would love one day for Snoloha to be in the same echelon as them. And every so often (okay, quite often) I find myself frustrated that I’m not there yet… so when I see yet another Life is good wannabe, it’s always a good reminder that this doesn’t happen overnight and I’m not trying to copy another’s success, instead working to create my own.

One of the lures of being your own boss is the freedom that comes along with it. One of the challenges that comes along with that freedom is focus. I have to believe that most entrepreneurs have a To-Do list a mile long. And in order to accomplish any of the items on that list…you need focus. Throw on top of that running a lifestyle business like Snoloha, along with the temptations (and expectations) of actually living the lifestyle, and there is a constant struggle between freedom and focus.

Accountability is another lure of being your own boss…meaning you don’t have to report to a manager or a department. However, as I’ve learned, there still needs to be some sense of accountability in order to dwindle down that always growing To Do list.

I’ve been toying with a few different ways to be held a little more accountable for my goals of growing this brand, including forming a Snoloha Board (which sounds way to corporate, but we’ll see what happens with that). But I had an “ah-ha” moment recently about this…The Barefoot & Exposed Blog. I’ve always felt that when I type something in this blog, then I must follow through. So for 2010, I’m gonna try and use it to hold myself accountable…and at the same time really keep everyone in the loop with what’s happening behind the scenes. How will this work? I’m not exactly sure yet, but probably consistent updates of some sort. If you want to participate, feel free to contact me via email, Facebook or Twitter.

Oh boy…did I just open a can of worms, or what?!

New Year’s resolutions…they are exciting to make, but do we really follow them? It’s the same with business, for me at least. But the thing with Snoloha and this blog is that it’s all documented so there’s a certain amount of accountability that goes with what I say and what I do. Reflecting back on the first post of 2009, I am proud that for the most part I stuck to my plans throughout the year.

I wrote that post while reflecting on 2008 and listening to Kenny Chesney’s “The Life”, while the snow piled up outside my window.

“He said I fish and I play my guitar
I laugh at the bar with my friends
I go home to my wife
I pray every night
I can do it all over again”

This morning, once again the snow is falling and I find myself not so much reflecting on 2009, rather looking forward to 2010 and listening to Jimmy Buffett’s “Jimmy Dreams”.

For the brand, and for me personally, 2010 is going to be a big year, full of changes and growth.

The brand: Snoloha is undergoing a new look thanks to Joe’s great branding design, ALL new products are being released in the coming months, a fresh approach to opening retailers is underway, progress in Europe (including distribution in Germany) will continue, and collaborations with Bay Breeze Yacht Charters are just a few of the things being tackled in 2010. There is plenty more on the To-Do list, but I don’t want to give away all the surprises.

Personally: We are having a summer baby! It’s our first. It’s scary as hell, but equally as exciting. Talk about having a fire under my behind to take this brand to the next level, and a sudden new perspective on…everything.

A little “Jimmy Dreams” for ya. Do me a favor, when reading these lyrics, replace “Jimmy” with your name…it feels good:

Jimmy dreams
He’s a child to the end
What a joy
When you are your best friend
The world’s such a toy
If you just stay a boy
You just spin it again and again

Jimmy flies
With no use for disguise
Just escapes
Using mirrors and capes
And the words do the trick
There is no bigger kick
Than just rhyming again and again

Jimmy stares
Towards the bright Pleiades
It’s so strange
What his distant eye sees
Who knows why you start
Rediscovering your heart
But you do it again and again

I’ve got a number of favorite Buffett lines and verses, and that is one of ‘em:

The world’s such a toy
If you just stay a boy
You just spin it again and again

Keep that in mind as we move into a New Year, leaving behind an interesting 2009.

Looking to waste some time online? Of course you are…that’s what people do with this crazy world wide interweb super-highway. While you’re at it…visit some of Snoloha’s BFF’s:

The Tropicast Radio Network Snoloha has been working with Jimmy Pirate & The Tropicast Radio Network for a couple of years now by sponsoring the show and promoting the Trop Rock genre of music.




Homemade Wine Snoloha is partnering with Homemade Wine of East Tennessee, a Trop Rock band recording a new cd and touring throughout the lower states this summer. Yes, they will be sporting Snoloha gear on stage!




Bay Breeze Yacht Charters & Sailing School Escape on the water with our friends at Bay Breeze Yacht Charters & Sailing School.




St. Thomas Blog The Snoloha brand and it’s inspiration is partly attributed to the island of St. Thomas. Nicci & The Big Kahuna from the St. Thomas Blog keep us abreast of life on the rock and pay tribute to Snoloha with a trip to Magens Bay in their Definition T’s.




MISkiReport.com The web’s best source of information on snowsports in Michigan, offering real-time snow reports, event info, great deals, and more. Check ‘em out at MISkiReport.com

Snoloha, The Drink This recipe was created by Mark, the TikiTender and the photo was taken at the Golden Lion beach bar on Florida’s Atlantic Coast. Check out the ingredients. What a perfect concoction for the Snoloha brand. Thanks TikiTender, for creating a great Snoloha style drink.

In the post below, I shared some of the new branding that Joe designed. But the branding doesn’t stop there. Snoloha branding is much more than the logo and the collateral materials. The branding goes much deeper than that.

I am the brand (I am also Batman). So whatever I do is a reflection of Snoloha, from my personal Facebook profile to how I scowl when my wife takes me shopping (I need to work on the scowling). Locally, there are people who only know me as the “Snoloha guy”. So if I’m at a local watering hole, yep…I need to remember that I represent the brand. While I’m driving my Jeep with the big www.snoloha.com sticker on the back window, I have to be mindful of my driving and my singing.

It’s also the presentation at retail and how your package shows up in the mail…and both are undergoing changes.

The feeling a person gets when they see or think “Snoloha” is also branding at work. This is much more difficult to control, since I’ve learned that everybody connects to the brand in their own way. Some people think “Snoloha” and they drift off to a remote beach to relax. Others think “Snoloha” and they are enjoying fresh powder at their favorite ski hill. The commonality, though, is people tend to escape to their favorite place “somewhere between the islands and the arctic”. Escapism is the key.

How Snoloha gives back as a company is also branding at work. Some brands are very discrete, while others work giving back into their business model. Both are fine with me. Giving back, whether it’s public knowledge or not, is the right thing to do. I’m still trying to figure this one out.

How I write, and what I write in this blog is branding at work. There are bound to be typos and grammatical errors…but I’m not too concerned. Snoloha is not an elitist, high-brow brand. A typo here or there goes hand-in-hand with the slacker-friendly, laid-back approach of the brand.

It goes farther than this, but you get the idea. Actually you (yes you) are part of Snoloha’s branding. Think about that.

You know what’s really weird (for me) about peddling a product during the Christmas season? The ‘peddling’. It’s the business / retail norm that the day after Thanksgiving starts the holiday shopping madness. And when you combine that mindset with someone running and growing a small business / brand (that would be me) who despises shopping in crowds and following norms…it’s an interesting dynamic working it’s way through my head. Do what everybody else is doing and capitalize on consumers’ current frantic shopping mindset, versus keeping steady & true to your own values of growing a brand that people connect with and purchase as a reflection of who they are (or want to be).

Sounds idealistic, doesn’t it?! I agree.

My wife and I don’t stress out and go crazy buying Christmas gifts for one another. Instead, we go shopping together and buy toys for our local Toys for Tots donation. I mean really, what do we need to buy one another that we don’t already have?!

If you are considering buying a Snoloha product, GREAT! After all, this is a business and it needs sales to survive. And if Snoloha is that brand that you just GOTTA have (or someone you know HAS TO have, even better). However, if it’s just a Christmas gift that is being purchased because it’s Christmas and you have to find gifts…I’d encourage you instead to use that same money to buy a toy and donate it. It feels good.

Maybe it’s growing older (but not up) that changes how a person feels about the holidays and what’s truly important. Maybe it’s just the way my slightly demented mind works. Maybe it’s the simple fact that I DO NOT want Snoloha to end up following the rules of every other brand in the over-crowded ‘notice me, look at me’ marketplace.

My point here? I don’t know. Maybe I’m just killing time and you’re the victim (thanks Greg at MadGringo.com for that line).

But really…of course buy Snoloha if it makes sense for Christmas. And if it doesn’t, buy a toy. Donate it.

There you have it…a look inside what goes on in my head. This is just a small taste as I don’t want to scare you away with all the gory details.

“Open up my head and let me out.” ~ Dave Matthews Band

Happy Shopping…

This one is from Mike Michalowicz over at Toilet Paper Entrepreneur (pick up his book, it’s worth the read):

“When we wait to take action until we have all of the facts, very often we end up doing nothing at all.”

Isn’t that the truth?! It’s easy to fall into this thought process of wanting to know everything before acting. The problem is, you never end up acting, rather just discussing, pondering, wondering, worrying, evaluating and estimating. Most times (if not all times) just go with your gut…which always reminds me of a favorite Buffett song, “Cowboy in the Jungle” (yes, most things in my life always come back around to Buffett or a Seinfeld quote. Pathetic, I know):

“With no plans for the future
He still seems in control
From a bronco ride to a ten foot tide
He just had to learn to roll.

Roll with the punches
Play all of his hunches
Made the best of whatever came his way
What he lacked in ambition
He made up with intuition
Plowing straight ahead come what may.”

G’head…ACT. Start that company, take that vacation, call in sick (or call in gone!), do whatever it is that you want to do and your gut is telling you to do, but “paralysis by analysis” is holding you back. Do I need to offer more Buffett? Okay:

“Live a lie and you will live to regret it
That’s what livin’ is to me”

-

Every once in a while I go back and read older blog posts. It’s a great reminder, or snapshot, of what was happening at the time.

Currently, we are in the middle of BIG, HUGE, GINORMOUS changes for the Snoloha brand. Okay, maybe I’m being a little too dramatic, but there are very exciting changes on the horizon. Change, I believe, is good. Being safe and stagnant is way too risky. However, with planned change comes that dreaded word that I still am not use to…’patience’. None of these changes can happen over night, and like most entrepreneurs once you have an idea in your head you want to act on it asap.

I decided to search for the word ‘patience’ in the blog search box over on the left and thought I’d share / recycle this post from May of 2007:

Those that have been with us since the beginning know that Snoloha.com launched in November of 2006. Our official retail launch was this past February at Boyne Country Sports in Novi, Michigan.

We are now at 16 retailers (possibly 17 anyday now) ranging from Novi, east to Grand Rapids, then north along the Lake Michigan coast to Petoskey. Our goal is to continue growth here in Michigan and beyond, including the Great Lakes basin, New England on down the Atlantic Coast, then we want to “head west young man” to Texas, Colorado, and of course California.

We are learning our “voice” and our place in the market. I am learning patience and how to find “moments of escape”, which usually consists of walks to the downtown coffee shop, or getting lost in the woods with the Customer Service Manager / Shipping & Recieving Supervisor, Bailey, which happens to be my Lab. She’s not very good at either of her jobs. I think it’s because she can’t speak in English and she lack opposable thumbs.

With the continued support of you, our customers and retailers, the road ahead looks promising, but far from smooth. I knew coming into this that starting a business would not be a smooth ride. It’s more like a “dangerous curves ahead” ride, with steep cliffs on either side, limited visibility, and no power steering. However, it is also very, very exciting, motivating, and fulfilling.

So a big “THANKS” to everyone for your feedback, your business, and for supporting the Snoloha lifestyle thus far!

Gotta go now, there are retail orders to fulfill and Bailey seems to think that laying in the sun and barking at pedestrians walking by is more important…I really need to have that performance review with her!

This is from my good buddy Seattle Dave, and I thought I needed to share.

“A couple of days ago I went to the post office. I hate going to the post office, even a short line is long! I always feel a bit violated by how long it takes to mail something. I am rarely pleased when I leave the post office. This day was no exception.

As I climbed into my truck shaking my head about how much time was wasted, I looked to my left and saw a lady crying in her car. While I was a bit annoyed by my visit, I certainly wasn’t about to cry! As I cautiously spied on this poor woman, I saw that she was indeed crying. I saw the tears rolling down her cheeks as she was laughing her head off!! She was bawling hysterically. She was quaking and convulsing with laughter.

It was great.

Whatever was in her letter was magic. I started laughing myself as I drove away. This moment was a day-changer. I felt a closeness and true love for this crazy lady. Her joy was contagious and I have never left the post office feeling better.

This moment struck me as significant in that it highlighted the possibility of joy in any moment. Happy, funny, strange, moments that bring a smile to your face ARE day-changers.

The beauty in this is that: you can think them any time you choose!! You CAN manifest joy by simply thinking joyful things. This is awesome!! Do this!! Find a couple of your best, bad moments and smile a bit. You will certainly change your day and it is very likely that you will change others as well!! Have fun, be kind, appreciate, smile, laugh and smile more. Enjoy all of it. -Dave”

Not sure how I stumbled across this, it’s an older article but if you are a Tiger Woods fan then you should check it out, from ESPN.com…it’s worth the read.

Good quotes, they need to be shared. I wanted to share this quote from Woods:

“The greatest thing about tomorrow is, I will be better than I am today. And that’s how I look at my life. I will be better as a golfer, I will be better as a person, I will be better as a father, I will be a better husband, I will be better as a friend. That’s the beauty of tomorrow. There is no such thing as a setback. The lessons I learn today I will apply tomorrow, and I will be better.”