But, Brian, you do market yourself. You do it, perhaps unwittingly, by letting us know who you are and what you do. In my opinion, increasing your visibility in the business is the best thing a sole practitioner can do, whatever the business. And, of course, the KOF framebuilders are virtually all sole practitioners. It's what I have done (I do no overt advertising for my engineering consulting business, either), and it has worked for me, too.
In any case, anyone with a business has to get the product out in front of potential customers and let them know what it's advantages are. There are a lot of ways to do that, and it can be done with or without integrity, as you suggest. But it's essential.
Steve Maas Long Beach, California
brianbaylis@juno.com wrote:
> Steve,
>
> I'll say it again. Marketing is everything; always has been and always will be. Politics is marketing, more so than ever. Marketing is marketing, and more so now than ever. The science of marketing has probably been taken to the "highest level" by the government and political spin doctors. Personally I'm opposed to marketing for myself. There are two types of market generally speaking. The marketing through education and there is marketing through a certain amount of manunipulation and deception. You decide which is which. The reason the second type works so well is most people are not knowledgable enough in the area in question (try getting the proper answers to important questions in order to make an informed and responsible political desicion from a politician) and therefore we are all ripe for manipulation. We are anxious for information; the question is is the information accurate, unbiased, and proven? Most of the time in advertising it is not. Even the hamberger on
the menu board at the fast food resturaunt looks nothing like what they hand you to eat when you buy one. Most advertising is slanted, uses every fallicy of logic in the book, and has only one intention in the end. Alter you thinking and reasoning in most cases. Personally, I'm just not a fan of the concept. Of course I pay the price too. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
>
> After I write stuff like this I generally get a bunch of personal email, some disagree, and others see things my way. Disagree with me all you like. Take offence if you have to. It's your right.Doesn't change anything for me.
>
> Brian Baylis
> La Mesa, CA
> OK, enough horseing around. I've got work to do.
>
> -- Steve Maas <stevem@mail.nonlintec.com> wrote:
>
>
> One last rant on this subject.
>
> Yesterday I took my chrome Rossi out for a spin, ended up at a bagel
> place in Manhattan Beach, an affluent seaside area, for lunch. A couple
> people saw my bike, asked me about it, and admired it. This happens
> almost every time I go out on one of the classic bikes--literally,
> almost every time! People in cars stop beside me at traffic lights and
> ask about whatever bike I'm riding. I get toots of the horn from drivers
> and a thumbs-up sign. And so on.
>
> There is obviously a lot of appreciation for elegant, classic design and
> construction that shows a high level of aesthetics and craftsmanship.
> Here in LA, for sure, there are plenty of people with the money to buy
> high-end frames, and there is no lack of willingness to spend it. There
> is no need to expect people to support KOF efforts because of a sense of
> charity and good will, which, we all know, is just not going to happen,
> and certainly is not a valid basis for a business. The problem is to tap
> into that market. I'm not sure how to do that, but it seems obvious to
> me that this is the key to making a business out of high-end frame work.
>
> Steve Maas
> Long Beach, California
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
>
>
>
> .