For most of us, it’s easy to remember the big things: life, health, happiness, friends and family, the end of Oprah, leftover turkey sandwiches. But then there’s the day-to-day and the people who help us retain basic sanity.

So I’m going to get all touchy-feely on you. Take a moment to thank the people who work with/for you. From your postman to your VP. Without them, you’d likely be screwed.

1. Interns
I don’t know what I’d do without them. These guys do all kinds of banal stuff for me and in exchange, I pledge to give them as many free concert tickets as I can and someday plan to write them a recommendation that hopefully lands them their dream job. Mostly, I tell them how friggin spectacular they are ad nauseam. John, Jay, Elijah: I can’t thank you enough. I’m incredibly fortunate to have you on the team and am grateful every single day for the outstanding work you do. Without you, I would most certainly lose my mind (even more). I owe you like, forever.

2. Partners
People helping people. Oh boy, I told you, it’s like I’m my own Oprah. But seriously, we’re all stronger together. So it only makes sense to partner up with people who get it. You scratch my back, I scratch yours. It’s all in good faith and Outlandos has some amazing partners. In part because we’re such glass-half-full, anything’s-possible, nothing-to-lose folks. Frankly, I’m amazed at the number of people who reach out, wanting to help. More amazed at the people I reach out to who accept. As they say, all opportunities are opportunities. Interested? E-mail me.

3. Fans
That’s you. You forward our blogs, you share us on Facebook, you refer potential clients, you listen to The Daily Dose, you read our newsletters, you send us supportive e-mails. Every little bit helps. And on those days where we don’t know what the hell we’re doing, you ground us. By us, I mean me. So I thank you. If I had a dollar for every thing you’ve done, well, I’d probably hire someone to redesign The Daily Dose. But then I’d buy you each a beer.

Happy Thanksgiving.

xo

I don’t care how friggin spectacular you are… if you don’t have anyone to tell, it might as well not be true. It’s a chicken and the egg deal. Almost. Because, you CAN have real, passionate, loyal fans at every stage of your career, from fledgling to Trent; if I like you, I’ll help you. Period.

Think of it like this: the way you make me feel about your product handily trumps the actual product. In a heartbeat.

So… how do you do it? Um, it’s called MARKETING.

Singer-songwriter Seth Glier recently quoted a fan who said it best:

“You know Seth, I know we don’t see each other a lot but I consider you a friend…..Coldplay is JUST music to me.”

And Seth is hands-down one of the most spectacular self-marketers I know.

It works like this, in this order:

1. Make friends and fans.
2. Do/make something that’s meaningful to you.
3. Tell your friends and fans about it ASAP… DO NOT polish it to death or worry about it not being perfect (any successful entrepreneur will give you this exact advice). Get it out there as fast as possible. Make it pretty/hone your skills later.
4. Inspire and ask your friends and fans to help you/buy your stuff.
5. Rinse and repeat.

It really is that easy.

Don’t believe it? Here’s something I probably shouldn’t tell you. 21 people work for me for free. Our online views have increased 127% in four months. 6000+ people read our newsletter. And we’re in the black after less than two years. Certainly, I hope it’s because we’re doing great work but for sure, friends and fans made this possible. As in, 65% them. No joke.

Did someone say the value of emotional value? I’m just sayin.

Obviously, shamelessness = a plus, i.e., just the simple act of asking is not for the tame-at-heart. SOL if that isn’t your bag; you’re going to need to acquire some assertive chops pronto. Because (say it together with me people) when you don’t ask, the answer is always no.

But asking isn’t even the hard part. First, you have to have people to ask. You have to have fans.

Whether it’s your mom (or mine), your friends, your coworkers — I don’t care — everyone has fans. What’s more is, everyone has fans just WAITING to help. They’re WAITING for you to ask, WAITING for you to lead them (don’t believe me? See: Tribes).

In short: you’d be surprised by the people who are willing to go to all kinds of lengths for you (for free!), people who genuinely want you to succeed… and, as Afterschool Special as this may sound, all you have to do is ask.

How you ask is a whole other ball of wax. But suffice it to say, not asking is like leaving money lying on the table. And that would be highly un-entrepreneurial of you now, wouldn’t it? Tsk, tsk!

My Mom

Think about it like this. Not only are you competing with a bijillion other musicians out there — both established and off the couch — but now, thanks to Twitter and Facebook (MySpace is soooooooo last century) you’re competing with my mom. Seriously. If her micro-blogging content is more compelling than yours, you’re screwed.

After all, fans are semi-limited. There’s only so much room we have in our hearts. And only so much time in the day. And only so much money to give/spend. And we are hella choosy. If you don’t have me at RT, somebody else will. And that somebody could very well be my mom. Or your mom. Or Joe the Plumber.

Web 3.0 = everyone has the potential to have an audience, to have fans. It’s like some uber-version of Warhol’s 15 minutes of fame. Only now it’s 140 characters or less. So yours better be good.

xo