Archive for the ‘Rebel News’ Category

The Kiss of Death: Young and Different

Monday, May 4th, 2009

When I look into the mirror, I have trouble believing the face that stares back at me.  Usually a comment like this is followed by the author discussing how they are young at heart, but old in age.  However, the young (and handsome!) face that stares back at me, seems to hide the experience it has witnessed.

In the past six years I went from a small town college student, to a United States Marine, to a Marine infantryman, to a combat veteran, to a young professional, to an interim manager at a Fortune 500 company, to a trainer of foreign troops in Africa and South America, to a two time Iraqi veteran.  Now I am an entrepreneur.

Just looking at the list makes me tired.  When I told my story to a helpful friend at the Small Business Administration, she exclaimed that I have already lived a full life.  And indeed, with so much packed into so few years, it begins to feel like the past six years has given me experiences that few will have in their entire life.  Yet, here I sit, young face staring back at me.

Don’t get me wrong, I realize this is not a problem that too many will elicit much sympathy.  I am quite glad that my physical appearance has not matched the age of my experience.  The only reason I notice my youth at all is due to the mirror that that forces me to see my youth.  However, this is not the mirror that sits in my bathroom; this is the mirror of those I compete against.

As I mentioned before, the path I followed has led me to become an entrepreneur.  At the ripe old age of 25, I decided that I should become an advisor to other businesses.  I never saw a reason why I should not.  I saw that no marketing or advertising firms were adequately addressing how new media changed the fundamentals of communicating with consumers.  I knew I could do better.  I never thought twice about it until that mirror entered my life.

When someone plans a meeting with a consultant, he or she expects a certain amount of grey hair to prove experience.  When a young looking man, dressed like some sort of cross between a punk rocker and a businessman, walks through the door, a guard goes up.  Old men advise companies, not young Rebels.  And this was the mirror that I faced. 

This barrier to entry, silly little things like age and dress, were preventing me from implementing the changes that I knew businesses need.  Instead of potential clients listening to how I could help their business, they were busy trying to figure out how to get me out the door.  There are times I was convinced that if I offered a cure to cancer I would be just as equally ignored.

Now, I realize that there are certain things I could do to make my plight easier.  My mother constantly begs me to try to look a little more professional.  But, as I point out to her, the name of the company is “Rebel,” not “Nice Boys that Dress Well.”  I’m sure this seems like hardheaded stubbornness, but I believe that I have fought for enough in my life and I should not have to change my appearance to get a fair shot.  This may seem like a crazy concept, but I want to be judged on what I have to say, not on what I wear.  And even if I did change the clothes, the age would still be there.

All that said, it has not been completely bad.  Those that have been able to suspend judgment on my age and appearance, long enough to listen to me, have generally been very welcoming to my concepts.  What they have found is that my difference is more than skin deep.  I think differently too and that difference in thought is what allows me to help their companies.  It is what allows me to increase their reach sixteen times over.  It is what allows me to increase leads for their company by over one hundred percent.  It is what allows me to spark conversation that turns a message into action.

Slowly, one by one, I have been able to sway old school thinkers to new school ideology.  This is my fight.  Like most fights that I have experienced in life, the battle does not make me angry.  Instead, I am left feeling sorry for those that work so hard to resist new ideas.  The way that consumers make purchase decisions has quickly shifted.  Those that are left trying to continue down the same path are all but doomed.  So here I sit, young and different, once again staring death in the face.

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Like I said, but better

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

Being a Rebel is never easy and takes constant defense of your beliefs.  However, every now and again you run into someone who gets it and is able to put your ideology into powerful words.  I recently stumbled onto such a person in Scott Milhous.

I invite everyone to check out his blog at: http://www.scottmilhous.com/  Scott does a great job of quantifying the views I so often try to qualify.  Stick with us and you will get the complete picture of the future of marketing and advertising.

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Beat the Recession – Joblessness can spark the entrepreneur in you

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

The Business Journal of Milwaukee – by Kathy Bergstrom

Starting a small business during a recession is scary, but Kyle Blades’ fears are tempered by his two tours of duty as a U.S. Marine in Iraq.

His military service provides “perspective on just how short life is and how lucky we are even in this down economy,” he said.

Blades, 25, of St. Francis, started his marketing company Rebel LLC after returning from his nearly year-long second tour of duty in September.

His position as a contract worker in the retail environment group at a Milwaukee manufacturer was eliminated while he served in Iraq. When he returned, the company told him it had a hiring freeze.

Rather than look for another job, Blades decided to strike out on his own. His experience in Iraq gave him the inspiration.

“I have my entire life ahead of me to do what it is I want,” he said.

Blades took three months to do research and meet with advisers from the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Service Corps of Retired Executives. In December, he got a $40,000 SBA loan through the Patriot Express program from U.S. Bank. The SBA loan program is for military members and veterans.

Rebel LLC bills itself as a customized consumer outreach company. Blades drew on his experience as a client of other marketing firms.

“I never really found anything that satisfied what I wanted to see from a marketing company,” he said.

His idea is to learn about the client first and find new ways to help the company reach its customers, whether that’s through public relations, business-to-business marketing, developing a marketing plan and other services.

Rebel LLC operates out of his St. Francis duplex and has 10 clients, including a bar, production company and a theater company. He hopes to generate $50,000 in revenue in his first year. January and February failed to meet projections, but business picked up in March.

He sees now as a “perfect time” to start a business, because other businesses may be looking for assistance in evaluating their operations.

“It’s absolutely a very scary time to be in business, but also very exciting because we can help turn things around,” Blades explained.

Russ Roberts, manager of the Small Business Center at Waukesha County Technical College, said it’s important to consider the business environment when starting a small business, but environment is not the only consideration.

Someone who has been laid off should consider whether they have what it takes to be an entrepreneur.

Some of the common qualities are persistence, drive, determination and passion for work.

Entrepreneurs also should be motivated less by the desire to make a lot of money and more by a love of what they do, Roberts said.

Prospective entrepreneurs can find an array of counseling services from places like the WCTC center, University of Wisconsin System and SBA.

If you’ve been laid off and don’t have an income, it might be wise to find some kind of job while the business is in its early stages, Roberts said.

Jeff Hekkers, 51, of Oconomowoc, stumbled across his idea for a business through volunteer work.

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Posted in Rebel News | 15 Comments »

Changing the Rules

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

 The economy has changed; this cannot be denied. We see it on the news, read about it in our papers and study it online. There is little doubt that everything has shifted; we are in a new economic climate. 

Individuals who saw the economy shift and created businesses that they felt would help alleviate cost issues are generally left bewildered at the reaction they receive. Instead of companies jumping at the opportunity to save money while receiving the same level of service, they doubt the validity of such an idea. Apparently, all those years of salesmen justifying their high costs have been effective. 

When Michelle Fitzgerald started her law firm, Horizons Law Group, she presumed people would be looking for ways to reduce legal costs. Much to her amazement, companies, used to high legal costs, met her with heavy skepticism. Despite her high level of service at a reduced price, companies appeared unwilling to try a new way of attaining legal counsel.

In one example, Ms. Fitzgerald received a call from a woman looking for a quote. Fitzgerald asked several questions and then informed the woman that it would cost about $500. The woman stated that every other firm had quoted right around $3000 and wanted to know why Horizons was so much less. Ms. Fitzgerald explained to her that a lot of the paperwork that other firms would do was not necessary and she could receive the same protection for less money. The woman decided to spend the $3000. Clearly no law firm in its right mind would ever suggest spending less money for the same amount of protection.

Rebel, LLC was founded on much the same principle as Horizons. The founder, Kyle Blades, saw companies paying marketing, advertising and public relations firms huge amounts of money with little in return. He had a vision that Rebel could change the way companies reach consumers and, in doing so, keep prices down while watching sales go up. He figured the idea would be an immediate success, but companies are slow to accept the new concept, skeptical that less money will lead to greater success.

Tom Damm, a business consultant for SCORE, refers to this as the “you get what you pay for effect”. He explains that companies are wary of paying less for something because they are afraid they will get less in return. Thus, businesses that reduce costs while maintaining the level of quality often have a difficult time justifying their lower price tags.

A new economy would seem to welcome new ideas, but those who are paving the way find that not to be the case. Companies that are changing the cost to quality ratio remain confident that their ideals will succeed. “I know that as businesses see the success my clients have, they will begin lining up,” explains Mr. Blades. Undoubtedly, as more businesses feel the continual pinch of the economy, they will have to look for new ways of doing business. 

For further information on the above-mentioned businesses, please visit timeforarebel.com or horizonslaw.com.

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Rebel Opens to Rebel

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

It is a new company, for a new time.  Rebel, LLC opened its doors in January to do exactly as its name suggests, rebel.  The rebellion is against normal marketing, advertising, public relations and brand management firms that Rebel says is turning consumers apathetic to businesses’ outreach attempts.

In order to raise its clients above the white noise, Rebel uses a technique they refer to as customized consumer outreach.  In this approach, Rebel looks at a company’s entire consumer interaction and looks for ways to create a bond with the consumer.

“We are engaging consumers on their turf, drawing them in and then turning them into customers,” explains Kyle Blades, Rebel’s founder and president.  This is different from current firms because Rebel does not just look at what to say and where to say it; they consider everything a company does that will effect a consumer’s perception.

The concept came to Mr. Blades on his second tour in Iraq.  He repeatedly heard reports of the economy worsening back home and knew what the problem was.  When he left for Iraq he worked for Harley-Davidson and could not believe the amount of money being wasted on marketing firms with little in return.  It was no surprise to him why companies that spent so much, for so little were having a tough time.

Rebel takes pride in being the cheapest option around.  Not because it cuts corners but rather because it focuses only on outreach that will have a real impact.  Due to the openness of their approach, Rebel often has a difficult time defining a tangible return on their clients’ investment.  “We increase their sales.  Call it what you want: we figure out how to get more people to buy their product or service,” defends Mr. Blades.

It is because they offer a way to reach consumers for so cheap that Rebel is poised to gain ground in the crowded marketing field.  They admit that if the economy was better they may never get a chance to prove their worth.  However, because of the condition of the economy, companies are giving them a shot and enjoying the success they are seeing.

“I was skeptical,” explains Adam Vanderveen, who used Rebel to launch his production company: Guerilla Creation.  “It was unlike anything I had ever hear of before so I figured it had to be either genius or idiotic.”  After his company launched and immediately started profiting, Mr. Vanderveen is leaning towards genius. 

It is undoubtedly different but in its short existence, Rebel has been able to prove that new ideas is exactly what companies need to increase their sales.  For more information on Rebel, please visit: timeforarebel.com.

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