In the coming months I am going to highlight a handful of small businesses that I think are special. They are exciting, and I always have my ears open for hot new little mom and pop shops.
I am fascinated by Trader Joe’s. Not just because I love to cook–but because they have that special something. When you walk in there you know the joint is run by clever people with a sense of playfulness. They look like they’re having fun.
One of their not so secret secrets is they cut out the middle man. Almost all Trader Joe’s products are Trader Joe’s brand.
DIY Image and Videos
Trader Joe’s reminds me of my friends over at blueSky Studio who I met through Living Social. The studio was created by Bill Delzell who wanted to make high-tech light grid–used by professional photographers–available for the masses. blueSky, a DIY photography and video studio, supplies high-end light and camera equipment to the user who is essentially renting it for a period. Now anyone can create images and video content without putting a mortgage out on their house.
Today everyone is a publisher. Everyone can glam up their website and put engaging aesthetically pleasing content out on the social-sphere.
Today’s most compelling ad campaigns feature stories of customers, employees and leaders. Check out cloud content manage Box.net who feature their customer testimonials on their site. They aren’t fancy videos-but they are full of stories. They are meaningful.
Your customers tell the best story. Every vendor should have one like this at the very least. Blue Sky Studio is a good place to start.
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Blue Sky is located in the Dog Patch district in San Francisco in a big industrial-warehouse building at 2325 Third St, Suite 434, SF, CA, 94107. Call them at 415 626 7432.
