I'll be the first to admit, this project has been undertaken with a concept that is foggy at best. It starts from a blank page, literally.After securing the domain name last week, I rushed to the grocery store in the middle of the night and bought a crisp, new notebook. Back home, I sharpened a fresh pencil, sat at my favorite writing desk, and proceeded to stare at the aforementioned blank page for an hour.
I guess I expected the storm of ideas that's been swirling in my head to magically coalesce and give marching orders. Create action plans. Identify low-hanging fruit. You know, the stuff of serious business. The notebook went in the desk drawer, empty.
I've spent the last few days allowing myself to consider possibilities, and have tried to quiet the voice of pragmatism. Last night, the notebook came back out and the ideas did flow right onto the page. And they made sense together. And I've got my marching orders.
A lot of old-school business guys will tell you to keep your ideas under lock-and-key. Build a tower on the backs of other men and put yourself at the top. I believe those days are long gone, and that success is now largely determined by how much you're willing to share. So...
My vision for Gearcheep is: "Come for the deals, stay for the reads." To be one of those places (we all have at least one) in which people enjoy spending some time with their morning coffee. How to do it?
1) Provide great content for "everday adventurers", 8-5ers who work hard during the week, then blow off steam at the races or escape to the wilderness with their families on Saturday.
2) Enable "everyday adventurers" to connect with the site, and with each other, to build a community of like-minded people.
3) Promote sustainable living and a positive environmental ethos. Can I do that and still talk about bacon and beer? I love bacon and beer.
4) Scour the planet for the best deals on gear that lets "everyday adventurers" live the dream. Deliver this resource in a way that's "fresh daily" and easy to digest.
Lisa and I are excited to get to work. I'm building a content plan, and have already secured an interview with the editor of my favorite outdoors magazine! I'm not sure how to handle the "deals" portion of this concept... it will likely be pretty manual at first.Now you know the story. What say you?
9 comments:
This is so excitinggggggggggggggggggg!
whoa! this sounds grrrrrreatttt! If you need ANY advice, i will lend out my father to you! a lot of people go to him asking him what he thinks. since i am 1/2 him, i think he will love it.
I like your idea, and also agree that it's people who share their ideas that ultimately become successful--at least 'successful' in a way that's positive and authentic. What I want to know is: are there any other sites out there like this?
Brigitte - If I talk to your dad, will I be indebted to the family forever? I'm hearing the Sopranos theme music in my head for some reason. JUST KIDDING! Thanks :)
Snotty - There are lots of sites with great outdoors content. In that way, it's not a particularly original idea. But I think the idea of fusing content, community, and a "portal" for gear deals is fairly unique. Authenticity is key... everyone will know this is just me, my family, and a few friends behind the scenes!
Live the dream!
Don't run with scissors.
Thanks, Anonymous. My Uncle Jeff actually used to give all us kids scissors and tell us to run with them to disprove the theory. No eyes were lost!
Love the idea. The Everyday Adventurer portal, especially at a regional level, is a slam dunk. The deal portion of the idea is interesting, too. Perhaps drive traffic to other deal sites, doing the search work for your audience. Then, as your audience grows, start offering woot-like deal and, eventually, your own brand lines!
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