Dennis Yu

Donaji is a killer new Mexican restaurant in SF

Awesome People /

But their website is broken, tsk tsk. Who cares, since their tamales and mole are incredible? I had a chance to talk to Alison Cook, who runs the restaurant in the Mission District of San Francisco. Her husband is from Oaxaca and has been a chef for 15 years. They came to our website audit session, courtesy of the San Francisco Small Business Development Center, and got an audit done. Their website was made in Wix and isn’t mobile or search-friendly. We saw, for example, that their main image of food (so important for a restaurant), was blurry.So we used an AI tool to fix it. Here’s before: And here’s after: What do you think?

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Details matter.

Awesome People, Growth Mindset /

It’s the difference between a perfect drive down the fairway and a kerplunk into the water. Or a beautiful European vacation you arranged, but you when you showed up at the airport for what you thought was your flight, you found out that booked the wrong date. Or an ad campaign where you bid $5 per click instead of 5 cents. I’ve made all these mistakes and more. And if you are great at sales, but suck at details, you need a right-hand man or woman who is on their game. Like my co-founder, Logan Young, who manages complex projects and people. If you are great tactically but suck at selling, then complement your strength with someone like MARK A. LACK who can outsell nearly anyone. Don’t try to be everything, lest you try to be the accountant who wants to be an artist or the NBA center who wants to shoot 3-pointers. Find others to balance your strengths. In every great company, you’ll find a tight process for execution that’s run by people who pay attention to details. Are you a details person or a vision person? Do you thrive on many relationships or prefer time alone? Most people are one or the other, but not both. You can stretch like a rubber band at times to temporarily be someone else, but too long, and you’ll snap. Who is your Logan?

Details matter. Read More »

I’ve traded things to get experience.

Leave a Comment / Awesome People /

Instead of collecting things that can be bought, I’ve discovered relationships and moments that are priceless. Objects and employees you can “own”- they are exclusive and get depleted. But knowledge and relationships increase in value the more you give them away. Are you merely employing people or being employed for a paycheck? How might you unlock what’s fully possible inside you and others?

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Honoring others

Leave a Comment / advice, Awesome People, Digital Marketing /

The posts that work best on Facebook and LinkedIn are where you tell a story that honors someone else. These posts also build your personal brand and drive inbound leads for your business. When you mentor others, you create opportunities for you to lift them up and for them to honor you. Thus, the future of your business is dependent upon your ability to build up other people and publicly celebrate their successes. When you talk about yourself and your product all day long, though you want to drive sales, you broadcast selfishness. Figure out how you can lift up others and get them to talk favorably about you, too.

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Build up your team.

Leave a Comment / advice, Awesome People, team management /

How many companies do you know that actively build up their employees on LinkedIn, actually encouraging them to be seen by other companies? You’d think this is a recipe for disaster– your best folks might get hired away. But if you truly take care of your people and if you find team members that care more about mission than money, then actively building your people’s brands is critical to your own company’s growth. After all, if your people AREN’T attractive to other companies, then what quality do you really have? One of our stars is G (and this is a screenshot of his LinkedIn profile). We took this photo a couple of weeks ago when we met our VA team in the Philippines. Such loyal, happy, humble people– the key to our success!

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If you are an SEO, can I say that I’m a PPC?

Leave a Comment / Awesome People, promoting yourself /

If you are an MBA, then can I call any degree or skill I have my identity? What you have and who you are aren’t necessarily the same thing. I am not analyzing, optimizing, or advertising.I am a human being who has intrinsic value independent of my skill, job title, and accomplishments. You, my friend, have immense value even if you don’t have a Ph. D in your email signature line. And sometimes it’s okay to just sit there and be content– to not have to “hustle” all the time or be guilted into maintaining false appearances. You have permission to just be. I’ve done little work the last 3 weeks, and it’s been great. 9 flights over 8 hours each, plus a dozen short ones. No wifi. I used to joke that I work part-time- just choose which 12 hours of each day. But now I “work” only 4 hours each day, with learning being the bulk of my time. 2 hours for clients and 2 hours for our team. I’ve said NO to thousands of requests for meetings with no guilt. And that has pissed off potential clients who weren’t a fit anyway. Those people expect instant response and for free, who don’t respect your precious time. Be around those who love you and who you love, independent of your degree, skill, or title.

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I sliced my finger open while chopping onions in the kitchen.

Leave a Comment / Awesome People /

So forgive me if my typing and email responses are a bit slower over the next few days. Looks like all of us are improving our cooking skills unless we are ordering food online. I cook two from-scratch meals a day with lots of fresh veggies and stir-fried meats. What are you cooking? Arthur Wong has been industrious. Brian Burke serving up a slice of California Adrienne is taking her time. Result? Slow-roasted beef. David’s gnocchi looks incredible. Pat’s keeping it Mediterranean-inspired Sarah went for comfort food. Ling is keeping it light, but tasty. And here’s Gordon, to inspire you and hopefully help you prevent any kitchen mishaps. Bon appetite!

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Most “influencers” and social media “gurus” feel like frauds, but don’t want to admit it.

Leave a Comment / Awesome People, social media /

Some have a lack of competence, a lack of confidence, or both. It’s not that they’re actively trying to con everyone. My friend Leonard Kim explains how “Imposter Syndrome” works. If you’re reading this, I’ll bet you also deal with guilty feelings– lack of self-worth, hypocrisy between how you look and how you feel inside.

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Ultimately, we are all passionate creators.

Leave a Comment / Awesome People, Entrepreneurship, social media /

It may involve basketballs, guitars, or the tool of our trade. But the underlying root is that we entertain and educate. It just so happens that we use social media, email, and whatever vehicles to distribute our message. But at the core, we are sharing our knowledge and passion. It’s the music we each make that matters, not the record player itself.

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It’s better to be kind than right.

Leave a Comment / Awesome People, leadership /

Today, I spent time with a small conference organizer who asked us to speak at his event. Because he said he was in alignment with our mission to teach UNTERNS, we were willing to come to teach at our expense– he wouldn’t have to cover travel or pay a speaking fee. More than half an hour into the call, he said that he was looking only for sponsorships– that we could speak if we bought a sponsorship. My mistake was that I flipped out on him, especially since this guy is a paid speaker himself. He certainly knew how this works. What I should have done is quickly apologized for the disconnect. Those who know me can tell you I can cut down people quickly for their mistakes. But from now on, I’m making a special effort to look the other way and be kind, instead of right.

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