The Earth on sale! Wild West re-released. The story of a failed business idea that was actually quite charming.

in #life7 years ago (edited)

eniko-polgar-81606.jpg

Have you ever had your own company or been part of the management? And have you, if not with money, with your idealism gone all in?

I have had such an experience.

Dear reader,

Today I tell something from the "sewing box", in other words: my own world of experience. No desire to search for references or to browse prickly through the papers and documents. Today I choose the freestyle.

I was part of a media company. Who the founders were, does not play a role here and remains in the dark. Just this much: I had personal relationships with the management and shared the responsibilities of leadership and customer acquisition. We were always looking for new ideas and orders. How to make even more sales, but also with what we enjoyed.

The internet had its first blow behind it

and was recovering to a certain extent, Facebook was just as up-coming as "Second life" - an interactive virtual world in which you would be able to move and interact just as you would in real life (no idea what happened to the thing).

Advertising and placement of brands and services: this is where we helped our customers. One day, my management friend and I sat in his office, he asked me: "Tell me, what do you think of the following idea: We are building a global platform on the Internet where all companies can buy a claim that will become their central advertising space."

First I didn't understand what he meant. But he explained it to me.

We would "sell" the whole world with all registered streets, towns, cities, countries and continents.

Imagine this: if someone wanted to offer you Broadway in New York as advertising space, an address that everyone knows, for only ten Dollars. Would you make the purchase?

We knew right away that people would definitely want to buy. So we hired a befriended programmer who was about to finish his studies and entrusted him with the project. We raised the whole thing so that a claim in the hierarchy became more and more expensive. For example, a house number cost five euros, a street ten, a place twenty, a city a thousand, a country ten thousand and a continent a hundred thousand (if I remember correctly, it may well be that I am also a little mistaken in the price structure). However, it is not important).

Make a movie!

With the Graphics and Web Development Department, we immediately set about the visual realisation of our idea. I did the script writing and brainstorming with the designers. Everyone was quickly struck by the thought that people would tear our claims out of our hands. We were convinced that we would realize the business idea of the century. Before, we made sure that no one else had ever had the same thought. A company actually had a similar concept, but it seemed to us not so attractive compared to ours and differed from the visual implementation. What was completely missing from the project: Our gold digger instinct!

For quite a long and intensive time we worked on a small promotional film, which should be the most important part of our acquisition activities. Therefore it had to be highly professional, visually appealing and funny. We had friends in a sound studio close by, who were excellent speakers and so we engaged the guys around the corner for the sound recording.

With our film on the laptop we then went to sell the idea. In the meantime, we had infected so many people with our idea that we had gathered together an army of volunteers who would cover all areas of the business model, including the quite important legal aspects. The programmer programmed himself wounded fingers.

Wild West feelings

Every single one of them had either the obvious or secret dollar view. Due to a very good contact in the Hamburg business world, we made appointments- among others - to those in the companies that made the marketing decisions. They were medium-sized companies up to globally active brands. My friend and I went to these conversations with our laptop under my arm. Our most important sales hit: Deep penetration of a contagious enthusiasm and merciless conviction that we had found THE thing!

And we were right. The film took away all the theoretical explanations and conveyed the concept briefly and succinctly. Everyone understood it within minutes.

What do you think people were asking us?
That's right, the most common questions turned out to be like this:

"Is Germany still available?" If yes, we'll buy it!"

Every famous place and historic site in the world was immediately classified as highly attractive. We dreamt of the Taj Mahal in India, the Statue of Liberty in front of New York, the Ku-Damm in Berlin, we had France and Australia in our minds.

We pondered over such problems whether one could actually put mountains, like Mount Everest for sale and what price would be appropriate. In my head grew palm trees and beautiful beaches, I smelled the scents of a thousand and one nights, I searched the world for unusual and beautiful places. Meanwhile, the people bought. We got real money transferred. For small buyers we had built a landing page. A lot money. Germany, of course, was sold quickly just like other cream objects.

But the whole project took up a lot of money and resources, even though we had so many volunteers. But we did not do our actual bread-work adequately. We were aware that we urgently needed a large investor in addition to the purchases we had made and a lot of time and energy went into drawing up a business plan. Crowd-funding wasn't born then.

We managed to schedule two appointments with potential investors.

Then it was terribly serious and we realized that we really had something on the hook. Nevertheless, the enthusiasm was overshadowed by the tension and the right timing, so we became aware that this had almost slipped out of our hands. What was stupid (at least in retrospect) was that we immediately reinvested the money raised by the claim sales and paid the employees and the infrastructure of it. Full risk.

Where were we standing? We had already collected money for a project that previously existed only as a film. The programming was far more demanding and the whole thing was much more complex than we had hoped for. It would have been possible in any case, if we could have paid even more people and removed the pressure a little bit.

But of course we didn't foresee what would happen next:

The financial crash occurred.

Exactly one week after the investors' talks, the financial market collapsed and the big money bubble burst. People didn't even bother to call us back.

We had to stamp the whole thing. The worst thing was the subsequent discussions with the buyers. I will never forget the embarrassment and how ashamed we were to admit our failure. It was therefore one of the most difficult moments in my professional life to look into the eyes of those who were infected by our enthusiasm.

We met in a cafe near our agency at that time to bring the biggest buyer up to date: that his money was gone and he would not receive the promised service.

Honestly, I have a few gaps in my memory.

I really no longer know the exact reaction of the buyer. I think I was so upset and embarrassed, I was caught up in some kind of deafness. Well, we didn't encounter any warmth, that should be obvious.

The company went completely down the drain and everything had to be shut down. Also telling the employees, "you're fired" was pretty tough. Not that everything came at once, but things happened in turn. Eventually the place was closed and the interior was auctioned off.

That was a long time ago, but it is one of the most valuable experiences in my life. I have learned a lot and I know that every disaster has an end.

In any case, I can well imagine how the founders of Steemit felt. But even without having had the own experience, I could imagine how J. K. Rowling had the fantastic idea for Harry Potter and what she had been caught up with. As far as I can tell, she had the idea on a train ride. Oh, what a great train ride it must have been!
And in the Steemit founders case, it went fine; also in Rowlings. At least with regard to the financial aspect. I can't judge everything else, though.

I entered realms early in my life that promised fast money.

I was never so much attracted by money as I was by a kind of pioneering spirit and the longing to escape from a boring life. Getting to know other people than the usual. I've also seen the ugly side and the grimace of money. People who had previously come from very unwealthy backgrounds, who were acting pretty crazy. As everyone knows, money means also power and if you do not know how to deal with power and haven't thought about it in advance, things can get quite out of hand. It's like in the movie "Stork", when "Junior" is questioned by "Tulip" why he wants to be a "boss". He couldn't answer in the beginning.

So I am finishing with two questions: Of what would you like to be a boss? And why would you like to be one?

Thank you for reading.


Picture sources:

Photo by AJ Colores on Unsplash
Photo by Eniko Polgar on Unsplash

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Incredible post @erh.germany! 😊
The things we go through in life ...
I have no desire to be a boss at this point in my life. I think it is because I know quite a few “bosses”, and - let me just say this between us - I do not envy their lives!
Have a great week my dear Steemit friend ❤️

Thank you, @abigail-dantes!
Yes, often enough I thought that, when I was dealing with stubbornness :) - so you have none to boss around? LOL.

But I believe you as you were not bossy to your husband during this earthquake leaving him behind with your "die aloooooone" - I laughed hard reading this one as one of your 5 facts!

You must at least have some kind of boss-experience, otherwise you WOULD probably envy the lives of the bosses. It can be a really shitty job and it shimmers through that you know it!

You too, have a great week & now I know that I will visit you on Fridays :)

❤️ your remote psyche-loving friend

But I believe you as you were not bossy to your husband during this earthquake leaving him behind with your "die aloooooone" -

See, not bossy at all! :D

❤️❤️❤️

Wow! Every failure teaches us something, that's why we should cherish it like a success.

I just want to be a boss of me, set my own rules in my place and not disturb others.
If I could be a boss of someone else, that would be the traffic services, had you seen how people drive here you'd understand :P

Thanks for coming, @ruth-girl.
The cherishing a failure as a success is obviously the best method to deal with one. Otherwise it becomes a dark secret one sticks to be ashamed of. Mistakes are the spices of our lives, no?

HaHa! Traffic is somehow murderous over there? I thought, only Italy and India are the top scorer? What rank does Greece take or the place you are located? :))

Mistakes are the spices of life indeed. As long as people move on and don't waste their lives over them.

It's not the congestion so much but people's driving attitude. Most show no respect to others on the street. That's why I was surprised to see how people drive in Sweden. It was a whole different world.

And since you asked, I checked it because I didn't know the answer either. Greece is among the first 40 countries with the worst traffic rates.

I think it's a matter of proper education and legislation that everyone should comply with. If we were raised differently a lot would be different and better here.

:) I was driving a lot in the United States and there traffic is also pretty calm even though the streets are crowded. Never got the same impression as in Germany, where drivers push from behind. But as there are still highways with no speed limit, this attitude will move on (also because overtaking someone from the right side is also forbidden).

Totally so. Wasting life is never a good idea:)

Waaw nice job, and yes i failed once, but i will be a boss :))))) and like someone said if money can't buy happiness, poverty can't buy anything
thank you for this post.

Thank you, @benainouna,

if money can't buy happiness, poverty can't buy anything

That statement I cannot add anything to. It's true.

Wow. I am so glad I told you to shoot me the link. What a mesmerizing read! A post like this is one of my pet peeves - WHY CAN'T I RESTEEM THIS :)

I understand the 7 day payout period mechanic and how this relates to resteems of course.

Okay - so much to unpack here, and I want to do it proper justice. Rather than leave my feedback in comment form I have a question.

May I feature this post in an upcoming post series on the @humanbot blog, to be called the Steemit Wayback Machine? I conceive of this post series as a way to spotlight amazing posts that are out of the payout period. I will write an original review of each post featured and link to the original post. I may quote from the original post. 100% of the SBD post payout from the Steemit Wayback Machine posting will be split evenly among the authors of the featured posts.

Much love - Carl "Totally Not A Bot" Gnash / @carlgnash



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Human Certified Original Works

Carl, thank you so much, this got me totally unexpected! I appreciate a lot that you took your time to indeed read my article. I haven't thought of an outcome like this:-)

The idea to promote content after the time window passed is truly a good one. I often thought what a pity it is that the content disappears into the blockchain, either what I wrote myself but also the articles of other users. That you worked on a solution I like a lot.

Go ahead and use this article for the project, I feel honored by it.

LOL, I like the name: "Steemit Wayback Machine" - makes me smile :-)))

Pleased to have found you.

Hello Carl,
can you get me informed if that is still on your agenda?
Thank you.

It most definitely still us but I have been working on other projects. I hope nothing on your end is "on hold" RE me featuring this post, it may honestly be several more weeks before I turn my attention back to Humanbot and take care of a few things on this side of my Blockchain endeavors :) Much love - Carl

Thanks, that's all I need to know. I felt a little hanging on a loose end and wanted to establish the connection. Have a good weekend :)
Erika

Great article, again, Erika and the questions you raised are "provoking" me to answer since I have been my "own boss" since I left university (with a 1-year exeption).
From my experience, I never want to have a big company with many employees because I became quite disillusioned over time regarding the responsibility of people. You need to set rules, have a strong hand to lead the pack but at the same time stay human and have a heart and understanding of failures. This is a balance I would easily keep, but it takes more being "a boss". If the company is successful - people take the bonus for granted. In times of crisis, people get greedy. Sorry, but this is my experience. The "team feeling" you can only keep within a small group of people you know very well. But even this won't prevent you from making mistakes. I got scammed by a business partner for 500 EUR.... it came out, this "friend" would have even sold his own grandma for a few bucks. Sad to say, but these events in my life strengthened my decision to work alone or together with a max. of 2 other people.
I always dreamed of having a small Café with space for around 10 guests, where I serve self-baked cakes and the best coffee in the city. ;)
Really, "business" for me means fulfilling a dream, take a challenge...and go over to the next one. But not in a big way.

Ich bin bescheiden geworden mit den Jahren. Kleine Brötchen zu backen kann sehr befriedigend sein. Unabhängigkeit ist für mich zum Zauberwort geworden. :)

❤️ Thank you, Laylah!

I like having you provoked ;-)

You need to set rules, have a strong hand to lead the pack but at the same time stay human and have a heart and understanding of failures.

This in particular. I made myself the experience to having been bossed around. It is one thing to lead and another one wanting to be obeyed to. A good leader stays open for other perspectives and suggestions which may differ from his own. And also not taking everything personal.

I nodded to every paragraph of yours. You have a lot life and work experience and it delights me that you withdraw so many things from them.

Yeah, sometimes we even pay a prize in Euros, here the same.

Prevention from mistakes is actually a useless task. I would even say it is one of the worst things companies and leaders can concentrate on for there is nothing good to gain from. If mistakes happen, they happen.

Thank you for sharing your dream of running your own superb Café - smile - it's often that simple. Mine was similar (one of the many), I dreamt of having a tiny hotel, imagining to greet people from all over the world and let myself being entertained from their stories and adventures and give them the best hospitality.

"business" for me means fulfilling a dream, take a challenge...and go over to the next one.

I often changed my ideas and interests. Aren't we as humans more than "this" or "that" character with a huge variety of interests?


P.S. ja, eben. Unabhängigkeit lässt sich gut in der goldenen Mitte finden. Wo man niemandem zur Last fällt aber auch andere einen nicht wegen des Reichtums zungenfertig umwerben.

What an impressive story. You must have experienced all the highs and lows that you could possibly experience during such an adventure.

To answer your questions; I have been a boss for roughly 8 years now. In the future, I would like to be the boss of myself and my time. I am growing tired of being a boss of people, the people you employ will never be as emotionally invested in your project as you are.

And, while I see everything that my employees do and can hold them accountable for their behaviour, they also see what I do. So if I am having a bad day, they see that, which means I am never allowed to have a bad day.

So I guess I've also answered your second question. In the future, I don't want to be a boss. I simply want to focus on my business, whatever business that may be, and only have myself to hold accountable.

I love your story, it sounds like such an intense time. :)

thank you, @mazzle, you're always inspiring to think deeper into a topic.
What you've said led me to the question:

What if nobody is a boss, neither an employee?

I compare it with being a king of an empire. As a king you cannot and will not fulfill the desires, needs and demands of the whole kingdom resp. the involved subordinates. If the king has headaches (thanx for this picture!:) too many care as the people only see him in his role as a leader. A king having headaches gives the impression that the empire is in danger. So people don't like that. They want to have the assurance that - no matter what - their space remains safe.

But if we turn the view and share the responsibilities and everyone becomes an entrepreneur (king): The whole picture rearranges itself. Leading an own "empire" means that we go in with what we are capable of, where our talents lie. Cooperation is a must and dealing with one another, too. Nobody can have a business without other busy ones. Everyone is being held accountable; because there is no boss, nor servant.

The whole thing with being an employee actually led to the impression of limited responsibility. Same with being a boss; reduced to functioning as one who always knows best what to do. Which is not the case.

I made the experience to having found other entrepreneurs in my professional life and I worked with them for a certain amount of time and then walked on. Not out of disappointment but because I felt it was time to move or I felt not satisfied any longer or other changes in my life made it necessary (like becoming a mom). One can choose to lead the pack for a while and then decide to let go of it for role changing had not taken place - besides many other unknown factors.

In fact, I believe that "leading" is often a temporarily chosen role. There are occasions I lack leading qualities for the simple fact that I do not have the knowledge and competence in a certain field and I must rely on a person who knows better. This can happen during a day several times. In our highly specialized world this flexibility is - I guess - required.

I hope, that makes sense to you.

P.S. yes, the times were intensive, you bet:-)

Your comment does make sense. I also feel that sometimes I just lack the ability to lead well. I actually deliberately hire people who know more about certain things than I do, for the simple fact that I don't want to be an expert in their field.

It can make leading these people challenging though since they know they are experts, and I have to direct them to do things in a certain way, since I know what the customers needs are better than they do. It can be an interesting environment to work in, which is why I sometimes have a bad day.

I agree that being a leader can, and should, be a temporary thing though. Leaders need to move out of the way for fresh blood to come in. If I stay in this role for too long, I feel that the business won't progress with the times as effectively as it should.

Oh and I did the 5 facts challenge, thanks for the nomination. It was actually a lot of run to write.

🚀

Being a boss of yourself is sometimes the hardest thing to be. If self control slips through your fingers be it verbally or or through your actions you are a boss of no one. Therefore I would like to be a boss of myself to do right by people and make no mistakes.

absolutely heartbreaking !!!

what a surprise to see you here, commenting :) I haven't been here for years.

love your story - sounds like "the metaverse" everyone's talking about now !!