At UpSide, we believe that small businesses drastically improve communities. That’s why we want to highlight local business leaders in our community. We’re more than accountants; we are business confidants.
Come take a walk on the upside with UpSide Accounting’s founder, Mike Widdis, and have a laugh with us (or at us!) as we talk business.
In the first episode of Take a Walk on the UpSide, Mike Widdis challenges Kevin Sinclair from Intrigue Cambridge to a push-up challenge over beers at the local craft brewery, Jackass Brewing. Learn the most important ways to market your business and other inside business tips from our industries!
Transcript
Mike Widdis:
Hi, I’m Mike Widdis from UpSide Accounting. Welcome to the first episode of Take a Walk on the UpSide. We’re here with Kevin Sinclair from Intrigue Media, and we’re here to do a monthly challenge where we ask each other some questions, and if we get them wrong – push-up time! Kevin, how’s it going?
Kevin Sinclair:
Things are good, Mike. How about you?
Mike Widdis:
I’m pretty good. Glad to be enjoying some beer here from our local craft brewery, Jackass Brewing.
Kevin Sinclair:
I’ve got a nice sun-kissed IPA. What’d you get?
Mike Widdis:
I got an Irish red beer. A Pirate beer, Arrr.
Kevin Sinclair:
So, like everybody else out there, what exactly did I get myself into?
Mike Widdis:
Yeah, so I just thought we’d get together and just ask some questions about each other’s industries and see how much we know about each other and if we get them wrong, it’s push-up time.
Kevin Sinclair:
So how many push-ups is it for a wrong answer?
Mike Widdis:
Three push-ups per wrong answer. It’s up to the person who asks the question to decide whether it’s wrong or not but some of them could be a little gray.
Kevin Sinclair:
So by buying another beer, I don’t do push-ups.
Mike Widdis:
Maybe.
Kevin Sinclair:
Alright, so, let’s get started.
Mike Widdis:
Go ahead, I’ll let you do the first question.
Kevin Sinclair:
Oh boy. Okay, I had to write mine down. So this is more on the digital marketing side because I know you’re a guru.
Mike Widdis:
Oh yeah, right.
Kevin Sinclair:
Last year, how many times did Google change their algorithm.
Mike Widdis:
In one year? Six.
Kevin Sinclair:
Very close. Between 500 and 600 times per year.
Mike Widdis:
Are you serious?
Kevin Sinclair:
That’s what the average each year is. 500 to 600 times per year they change the algorithm which is why it’s a good idea for someone who’s running a business like yours to stay on top of it.
Mike Widdis:
It’s impossible.
Kevin Sinclair:
Especially since now you got three extra push-ups.
Mike Widdis:
Gotta take a swig of beer first. Okay, here we go. Girly ones, or…
Kevin Sinclair:
No, real ones.
Mike Widdis:
Dang, alright.
Kevin Sinclair:
No, lets ride the knuckles!
Mike Widdis:
I won’t do knuckles.
Kevin Sinclair:
Now that’s a bookkeeper that works hard!
Mike Widdis:
You’re telling me. So my question to you; what is the minimum number of times you should be looking at your profit and loss statement?
Kevin Sinclair:
Oh boy, I’d say minimum should be monthly.
Mike Widdis:
That’s actually right! Take a swig. Is that take a swig or not take a swig?
Kevin Sinclair:
Or is it that you do push-ups?
Mike Widdis:
I guess that means I do three more push-ups.
Kevin Sinclair:
I get a swig and you do push-ups.
Mike Widdis:
Wow those are tougher than I remember.
Kevin Sinclair:
It’s a little warm too in here. No air conditioning; the door’s wide open.
Mike Widdis:
That is true. It is a hot day.
Kevin Sinclair:
Why don’t you take a drink of your beverage, that way it’ll cool you down a bit. Now this one’s going to give you a break. There’s no push-ups involved. You and I know each other pretty well over the years. There’s a lot of people out there that don’t know you other than as ‘Mike I met at network events’. So because of that, can you tell us something that nobody knows about you and would be very surprised to find out.
Mike Widdis:
How about the best thing I’ve ever done? The most fun and scared I’ve ever been is gone skydiving. Ten thousand feet tandem, so I had somebody strapped to my back. They were in charge of pulling the parachute and everything. I didn’t want to be in charge of that. My job was to fall and scream.
Kevin Sinclair:
Did you do it well?
Mike Widdis:
You know what? You try to scream in that altitude and you can’t because the wind is rushing in so much that you can’t push any air out.
Kevin Sinclair:
That’s cool. I did not know that, even after all these years. Just so everybody here knows, there is somebody behind the camera that’s making sure that we’re doing things properly. She’s actually here more to help Mike out more than me. See, I had to write my own notes. I don’t have an assistant and all those things to get me prepared.
Mike Widdis:
So Kevin, tell us one of your marketing secrets. If you don’t want to answer, straight to push-ups.
Kevin Sinclair:
It’s going to sound corny, but it is true. The biggest secret I offer for our businesses is make sure you figure out who your A clients are and work with them because it makes marketing for them a lot better. It becomes a better how or why for them.
Mike Widdis:
Yeah, that makes sense. Same with my business.
Kevin Sinclair:
Push-ups?
Mike Widdis:
No, you don’t have to do push-ups, you shared. How about a cheers?
Kevin Sinclair:
Cheers! Here’s one that I think you’re going to get, so I’m prepared to do push-ups already.
Mike Widdis:
The pressure’s on.
Kevin Sinclair:
You have heard me probably says this a thousand times. So, is it best to market to everybody?
Mike Widdis:
No. You only market to your A clients.
Kevin Sinclair:
Hey, you got it right! Why is that?
Mike Widdis:
Because they’re the ones that are listening and care.
Kevin Sinclair:
It also keeps your cost down. If you market to everybody, it’s going to be expensive. You don’t know if they’re going to need you.
Mike Widdis:
You can’t be all things to all people. You’re not going to market to everyone, so you might as well pick people you like.
Kevin Sinclair:
Right, so work with your A clients. Push-up time.
Mike Widdis:
Oh, cracking the knuckles. Looks like you’ve been practicing.
Kevin Sinclair:
I’ve been doing that hundred push-up challenge and I hit a hundred and six days.
Mike Widdis:
A hundred and six days?! You reached your goal and just kept on going.
Kevin Sinclair:
Might as well.
Mike Widdis:
My question, so what is a value proposition?
Kevin Sinclair:
It’s one of those things that confuses me because what I call value proposition isn’t what most people do.
Mike Widdis:
It’s one of those gray areas.
Kevin Sinclair:
It is. So, some people like to say it’s what they do, when they do it, why they do it and how they do it, but I don’t agree with everybody else. As a company, people are most concerned with why they’re doing something, not so much the process. So, am I close to what you were thinking?
Mike Widdis:
Absolutely. I mean there’s so many different answers. There’s so many different parts, right? And I think you nailed most of it.
Kevin Sinclair:
Good. Get down there! You should see the big smile on Stacey’s face right now. Every time Mike has to do a push-up. You’re going to be able to play this for your young daughter.
Mike Widdis:
Oh my God, at her wedding or something? Going to be embarrassing videos of Daddy, not her?
Kevin Sinclair:
So this is more based on conversations you and I have over the years about digital marketing in general. If you could rank based on importance, these four things. One is email marketing, Google AdWords, a good website and blogging.
Mike Widdis:
I feel you have to have a website. If you don’t have a website, you can’t do much else. Regular blogging; email marketing, I think that’s a close tie. Number four, if you’re doing all those really well, you could step up to Google AdWords.
Kevin Sinclair:
Pretty much. I agree.
Mike Widdis:
Cheers.
Kevin Sinclair:
Because if you don’t have a good foundation, which is your website, it doesn’t matter how high you build the house above it. Blogging is fantastic for a skill. It doesn’t cost you a fortune to do it. Email marketing is known for the last year or so is by far the best bang for the buck in advertising, especially if you are talking to who already love you, selling products or service that you do.
Mike Widdis:
So I had another question. You can do your push-ups first though. Wow, you’re really showing me up there. That just means I have to do more of these challenges. So when you’re forecasting, when you’re budgeting for your business, what do you absolutely need first in order to create a plan? When your trying to go somewhere, what do you need?
Kevin Sinclair:
You need a map. You need a map to know where you’re going to go and it determines my business is talking with somebody like yourself and your team what my future steps looks like in regards to money that I might need to waive, and to make sure that I’m not paying taxes too much, things like that. Those were conversations that we have going on to help set up for year to year down the road.
Mike Widdis:
You got it. The foundation is there, right? Think about it, figure out where you are and get a map to where you want to go.
Kevin Sinclair:
The way you guys do your business, that’s the way we handle marketing, so you can’t do anything without a map because have you ever tried using one of those Google phones or one of those GPS things. You end up in the river somewhere.
Mike Widdis:
So I’ve got to do some push-ups.
Kevin Sinclair:
I should sit on his back! It’s a busy place. It’s just after three, so it’s not swamped, but people are starting to get off of work, so you might hear some background voices. So I’m gonna pull out my Barbara Walters. If you were a dog, what breed would you be and why?
Mike Widdis:
I would be a lab. Because I own a lab, and it’s awesome. I’m the best owner.
Kevin Sinclair:
I think he does push-ups. Yeah, you’re on the ground.
Mike Widdis:
So, here’s a tough one. Brain buster. What would win in a race, a quarter mild drag race. Porsche 911 Turbo or Tesla P100?
Kevin Sinclair:
Oh, the Tesla.
Mike Widdis:
Why?
Kevin Sinclair:
There’s just less drag on it. It goes zero to 60.
Mike Widdis:
You got it. All that torque from the beginning, but eventually, past the quarter mile the Porsche takes it over. That’s the difference between torque in the beginning and horse power at the end. So either get it out of the gate really fast and you might have trouble keeping up. But if you take your time and plan and build, eventually you will win the race.
Kevin Sinclair:
So you could put that in business too then.
Mike Widdis:
That’s what I mean. So if you’re starting a small business, take small steps, make sure you really shift and use those gears. Use first gear, use second gear, and get to where you’re going to go. Don’t start out of that gate super fast unless you’re not going to fizzle out and stay limited to a small business.
Kevin Sinclair:
Should he do a push-up?
Stacey Leonard:
Up to you.
Mike Widdis:
That’s the referee’s call.
Kevin Sinclair:
Yeah, I know. Do I feel like being the good cop or the bad cop… aw push-ups, go ahead. So this one, there’s technically no push-ups. Technically. This is what I call rapid fire. Roth or Hagar?
Mike Widdis:
Roth.
Kevin Sinclair:
Celine Dion or Lita Ford?
Mike Widdis:
Celine Dion.
Kevin Sinclair:
Push-ups. Lita Ford. She’s the rocker. Get down there.
Mike Widdis:
Never heard of her.
Kevin Sinclair:
Never heard of the Runaways with Joan Jett? Lita Ford? Okay, then you’re going to do lots of push-ups. Ratt or Skid Row?
Mike Widdis:
Skid Row.
Kevin Sinclair:
That’s cool. Eagles or Bon Jovi?
Mike Widdis:
Bon Jovi.
Kevin Sinclair:
So that one I’ll let you have.
Mike Widdis:
They’re both good. Who doesn’t like Hotel California?
Kevin Sinclair:
Ernie or Bert?
Mike Widdis:
Ernie.
Kevin Sinclair:
There you go. What Smurf are you?
Mike Widdis:
Brainy.
Kevin Sinclair:
What’s your favorite pizza topping?
Mike Widdis:
Pineapple.
Kevin Sinclair:
Push-ups. That’s just wrong! Favorite band?
Mike Widdis:
Metallica.
Kevin Sinclair:
Favorite song? Doesn’t have to be from Metallica.
Mike Widdis:
Favorite song ever? “My Name is Summer” by the Deftones.
Kevin Sinclair:
That’s all my questions. So you made it through.
Mike Widdis:
That’s not bad, only 30-40 push-ups.
Kevin Sinclair:
I still have I don’t know however many questions you want to throw at me, so.
Mike Widdis:
Here’s kind of a curve ball. How many times you drive up and down this road? Often?
Kevin Sinclair:
Yes.
Mike Widdis:
So there’s a big grassy hill between the road and the factory on the other side. Every time you drive up and down there I always see tons of little animals. What pops their heads out of those little holes?
Kevin Sinclair:
Groundhogs, gophers?
Mike Widdis:
You got it. That’s it.
Kevin Sinclair:
So I think you learned a lot about Mike today. Some good, some bad, some different. So, now what? It’s that awkward silence moment that Stacey didn’t write in the script for Mike to say right now.
Mike Widdis:
Only she did, but I forgot it.
Kevin Sinclair:
Oh. So we should stand her in here and have her read it.
Mike Widdis:
We can, yeah. I was going to say my beer is done. I’m going to get another beer, but we’ll wait for Stacey.
Stacey Leonard:
I’m doing it?
Kevin Sinclair:
Come on in. You know, you wrote it.
Stacey Leonard:
I don’t even know if I’ll be in.
Kevin Sinclair:
Right here. This is Stacey everybody.
Stacey Leonard:
Hello. So thank you for watching. This is the first episode of “Take a Walk on the UpSide” with Mike and Kevin. Please subscribe. Like this video if we made you laugh at any point, which we probably did, and we’ll see you next time.
Kevin Sinclair:
And make sure to stop in and see Keith and the gang over at Jackass Brewery. Shop local with your local companies and thanks for having me on today.
Mike Widdis:
Yeah, thanks Kevin.
Kevin Sinclair:
It was good to have a bit of a laugh.
Mike Widdis:
Absolutely.
Kevin Sinclair:
Nothing like exercising in the afternoon.
Mike Widdis:
You got it.
Kevin Sinclair:
Glad I wore a dark shirt, so you can’t see the sweat.
Mike Widdis:
No kidding, me too. I’m going to have to practice those.
Kevin Sinclair:
I’m sure you’re going to have lots of practice coming up. Cheers.
Mike Widdis:
Cheers.