Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Ultimately, I think that`s part of what this topic is about. Do you build a business where you "allow" any and all possible customers? Or do you constrain your business to a special interest group(s) under an assumption that it`s more direct?

If we hold that people tend to buy emotionally, then an emotional appeal could increase the conversion rate for like-minded people, at the cost of losing some number of opposing people. I`m thinking someone`s figured out a way to calculate the ROI comparison...somewhere.

I feel that offending folks can actually BUILD business. For example, Eminem would not be famous or rich if he weren`t a jerk. I don`t like him, but that is WHY the people that do like him buy his albums. There have been other examples of offensive musicians that I did like however. Sometimes it is nice to hear someone say the awful things that I`ve thought but didn`t want to say personally.

I have also heard that a bad reputation is still a reputation. If you are notoriously obnoxious, people will know who you are.

Furthermore, I feel as though every business should have some sort of identity. It doesn`t have to be offensive, or exclusive to a religion or a political party, but it should be unique and memorable.

If a carpenter wants to put a bible verse on his advertisements because he is inspired by Jesus and wants to have the same profession, of course, he may exclude people, but the people that do have the same views as him will identify with it and remember him more because of it.

Or, if a rapper wants to make rhymes about how he was neglected and didn`t have opportunities, and now he`s violently angry about it, he might offend some PTA members, but he will also get recognition from a bunch of teenagers that are surrounded by violence everyday and are relieved to know that they aren`t the only ones who feel that way. I know I got resentful a few times during my adolesence and it was nice to have a few thugs out there who made CDs to put in my CD player. It reminds me of the terribly violent video games that my husband plays. He loves Grand Theft Auto. It is offensive as can be, but he feels a release by misbehaving in the game. He says it helps him to not misbehave in real life. While I dislike his video games and he hates my music, we are not going to stop buying them anytime soon.

If you are going to use a statement in your buisness that includes or excludes certain people, you should have a purpose for doing so. If it is something that influences your work, then by all means, just say it. If if is something that is just your personal view and is irrelevant to your work, then leave it out.

Personally, I make a lot of tie dye work, but I try to seperate my work as much as I can from the 60s and hippies, because I don`t want my work associated with smoking pot or looking like a slob. The concepts of war protest and peace don`t bother me though. I don`t mind being associated with those. I also want my work to be timeless though. I want to make it obvious that it has advanced a bit and changed to reflect the times and also to reflect my own personal skills. I definately put a lot of thought into how I want my work to look and how it represents me, as well as the customer that buys it and wears it. I don`t want my tie dye to remind customers of balling up their underclothes and throwing it into a big pot of dye. I try to make designs that are a bit more sophisticated, and I try to use materials that suggest that I`m more innovative than the average dyer, and that my customers have good taste for selecting it.