20 Questions with Rex Dixon – 9/14/2006 podcast

20 Questions with Rex Dixon – 9/14/2006 – David Lee Roth, webworkerdaily.com, comments, concrete and much more talked about on this 10 1/2 minute podcast.

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Why Concrete Outlives Health Clubs

I addressed a little bit about the above title in my last blog post called Sign of the Times, which can be found below. It’s time to go further into detail, and find out why concrete is surviving and health clubs are dying.  

The most obvious thing you can see here is that the concrete person was his own little company; he tries hard to land new contracts, and does everything possible to get the next job lined up. The health club, well it sits there, and expects people to just gravitate towards the place.  

What I see about the old way of doing business and the new way of doing business is the two different mindsets. In the old school of business, here is what you see.

No, I’m not going to ever bash people I have worked for or with openly. I use examples, and I know you have seen similar ones at your business or place of work. Personally speaking, I remember allot of the bad business practices, and I will be utilizing that knowledge to build my Professional Blogging and Professional Podcasting business. In other words, I learn from my mistakes as well as those that I see others (business) make.

Now for this example, I hope you have seen the movie “Clerks”.  You have this person; we’ll call him “Randall”. Randall is in a position that makes like $100,000 a year. What does Randall do all day? He sticks his head over the cubicle wall and talks to “Dante”. Dante nods, agrees, chimes in every now and again, and also makes like $100,000 a year. Dante though is like Dante in the movie; all of Dante’s work is caught up and done. Randall on the other hand knows pretty much he can talk all day and still at 4pm, he clocks out and just made around $385 for those 8 hours.

Now look at someone like the concrete contractor. He does his contract job, and while working takes a call on his cell and makes an appointment to do an estimate for another job. At lunch, he sees and gives a bid on a job on his way back from Taco Bell, and heads back to the job site. That evening on his drive home after the job, he stops and gives that estimate for the job call he took at lunch. That night while relaxing online he checks his e-mail and sees someone requested a quote via his web site. He sees that the person has an IM account which he has an account at, just happens to check in to that IM service, and talks to the person via IM chat. At that time, his cell phone rings from another web site visitor, and within 15 minutes time he has wrapped up two more job estimates for the next day.

Yes, both examples were generalizations. That in a quick nutshell is what is wrong with business today. The old business world needs to wake up and embrace the new one just as the concrete contractor has done. If the old corporate world doesn’t realize this (and allot have), those companies will fade away with a for lease sign just like that health club I passed on my way to work this morning; at least Technically Speaking.

Sign of the Times

This morning while driving to work I happened to notice that this health club had closed, went out of business. There was a for lease sign hanging in the window. You are probably asking yourself – “So what else is new?” Have you paid any attention to what I have said here or on the podcast in the past 24-48 hours?  Traditional things such as normal businesses are starting to go away. Why is that? I believe it has to do with ignoring the internet and the vast potential that is out here. I mean companies such as myspace.com, youtube.com, yahoo.com, google.com – these are the prime examples of the new economy.  

Stick with me now. Most of you are thinking – “Well so what, there are tons of health clubs, they are probably statistically doomed to fail!” This health club happened to be in a very nice area, a college town or more like within about 1 mile of a college campus. I’m sure you have heard of the college –Webster
University. It sat probably less then a mile from the main apartment dormitories. With that in mind, don’t you think the survival rate could have been a bit better?  I know for a fact, that most college kids are in way better shape then I am. I know that college kids are more likely to work out on a regular basis then say, oh well – Rex Dixon! So the question that is one to ponder is – “How did this fail?”  

Keep reading people it gets better. Shortly after I passed the failed health club, I was behind a pickup truck. It had some concrete companies name on it. This was an independent contractor (his company’s name, LLC). Is there more need for concrete then there is for good health?  No that isn’t the point I’m getting at. To be successful in today’s wacky economy it takes 3 things as I see it -

1. Drive and dedication.

2. Old business knowledge or old school knowledge on doing business.

3. Embracing the internet and using it with the entrepreneurial spirit that is there. 

How did the health club fail? How come there is more need for concrete then good health? Those are questions that I can’t answer. Concrete or health clubs, both can and are successful. I hope that my next blog post will explain more and possibly answer the question above. Since I know you rather listen (podcast) then read (blog), I try to keep these near one page in length.  Here is what I think. The people that created the latest hype that everyone had to know about – Lonelygirl15 – they had their pulse on what was hot, and went with exactly what I’m just saying. They took their old school knowledge that they either learned or crafted, and mixed it in with the new media opportunities that are out there on the internet.  

As far as I am concerned, I believe that I am going to make a great Professional Blogger or Professional Podcaster; at least Technically Speaking. 

The Genius of Insanity

It is quite crazy watching the internet sometimes.

Our latest example of course is Lonelygirl15. Most of you already know that  Lonelygirl15 is nothing more then another well crafted straight from the idea of 1999’s Blair Witch Project. You remember that movie right? Here let me give you the rundown, “3 kids disappear in the woods around Maryland, they find video and audio in some wall in Maryland, etc…. ” Great ghost and campfire story to tell and modify.

What I like about Lonelygirl15 is the fact that the creators saw that podcasting as well as videocasting is the next big wave of media on the internet.  If you listened to my podcast from yesterday or even my interview podcast with Scot Duke, how far off the mark do you think I am about being a professional podcaster and professional blogger?

I believe that one day in the near future, there will be more professional bloggers and professional podcasters then you ever thought; and of course that is all just Technically Speaking.