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SMARTY.

The human side of business

Small Business

Singular.

June 26, 2017 · By Amy Swift Crosby

Trymbakeshwar, India

The bucket shower = a product worth iteration.

I recently read about new bar concept in Los Angeles. To be more specific, the concept was “a bar within a bar” – surely a watering hole for the coolest of the cool. This is an idea curated for those among us who can no longer be bothered with a cool standalone bar, cool hotel lobby bar or even a cool restaurant bar. This bar (within an existing bar) has no visible sign (of course), and earnestly offers only six drinks – all of which, upon reviewing the menu-  you could get at an airport. It would be one thing if they were importing Turkish cherries or growing their own sage. But their big idea was to merely tuck a tinier, more exclusive bar, behind a bigger more public one – and take that to market. Hmmm.

Private clubs, password protected back rooms and speakeasy ‘underground’ concepts aren’t new, but I have to laugh at these new attempts at manufactured secrecy/hip factor. They can only find an audience when good has gotten so good, that it’s not good enough.

We see this in a lot of categories.

Should Audi be featuring terroir-sourced tea as part of their new perks program?
Do men need a 3-step facial hair regimen: beard oil, beard balm, and beard wash?
Do our water bottles need charged gemstones… to be truly hydrating?
Does a Snickers bar really need to be fried? (Okay, sometimes.)
Does a VIP room…need a VIP room?

I don’t begrudge anyone’s creativity nor would I want to dampen any entrepreneurial spirits – ever. But…I am going to laugh, in a loving way, at the machine responsible for it.

When we take ideas that work, but then feel compelled to make them more mysterious, exciting or “authentic,” are they potentially having the opposite effect? At what point do we gild the lily? When does a product or service go from inventive…to contrived? When is enough, enough, or too much…too much?

Iteration is a buzzword, and many feel pressure to make it the status quo. But lately, I lean toward forgoing novel and newsworthy in favor of effective and singular. Maybe we just need permission to get better at the (one) thing we do best.

Quite often, that is original enough.

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About Me

photo of Amy Swift Crosby

Amy Swift Crosby is a brand strategist and copywriter who has positioned or voiced messaging across the commercial spectrum, from icons like Ford, BVLGARI, Pottery Barn, Pantene and Virgin, to boutique brands like The Wild Unknown, fitness franchise Barre3 and the rebrand of legendary metaphysical bookstore, Bodhi Tree. She has leveraged this expertise to help entrepreneurial women and small businesses owners hone their skills, mission and message, while uncovering their own “voice.” This blog explores “the human side of business,” and universal themes like uncertainty, anxiety, the tension between engagement and disconnection, personal value and most importantly, of finding - and hearing - our own voices in our everyday life.

Photo - Andrew Stiles

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SMARTY began as a thriving community in Los Angeles and Boston with weekly panel discussions and events designed to better understand the mindset and growth strategies behind successful entrepreneurs. Today, SMARTY is a weekly blog written by Amy Swift Crosby who chronicles her life as a creative, parent, entrepreneur and spiritual seeker. As an urban refugee living in a New England seaside village, she unpacks topics ranging from uncertainty and doubt to the built environment and advertising. More on Amy.

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