What’s on the iPod: Ten Thousand Things by The Avett Brothers
Busy day yesterday. Interviews in the morning and book work in the afternoon. I put up the “Away” message on my email and avoided. I have projects due and I needed the uninterrupted time.
I was busy two nights ago putting together a last-minute client project (a forgotten piece the client just discovered). It was my night to cook. Great. I went to Domino’s website and ordered dinner. Maybe it was because it was late and I’d been sitting at the computer for 12 straight hours, but I realized that Domino’s order process is brilliant. Here on the “Pizza Tracker” page were all the ingredients needed to run a successful freelance career.
Don’t believe me? Then you’ll probably not believe my theory that Star Wars was a glorified version of The Wizard of Oz, but I digress.
Here’s how pizza baking translates, in my opinion, to a strong freelance business:
1. Order Placed. You’ve leapt into freelancing with either tons of trepidation or little thought at all. But you’ve made the decision and you’re ready to rock.
2. Prep. No career starts out at the top. Prep your career. Arm yourself with knowledge of your practice area, your clients, your profession. Put time into learning the basics as well as ways to improve your own business. Build marketing and business plans. Network. Ask for referrals.
3. Bake. Apply your marketing “recipe” every day. Make sure to pay attention to what efforts you’re putting into your career and how effective they are.
4. Quality Check. Ask for feedback and referrals. Keep learning new things. Improve your writing with coaching, courses, workshops, or self-study.
5. Delivery. Deliver your best every time. Become the go-to writer who is known for reliability and accuracy. Your reputation is your best asset.
Okay yes, so I was tired. But how can you apply the Domino’s delivery process to your business? And can you see how C3PO is the spitting image of The Tin Man?
14 responses to “The Domino’s Guide to a Tasty Career”
Who is the Wizard? That's what I can't figure out.
I figure it was Yoda.
I need to get back to marketing. January's going to be flat-out busy, but I want to make sure there's no lull in February.
I can't deliver in less than thirty minutes, though. Sorry.
C3PO and the Tin Man are waaay different. The Tin Man has the funnel on his head. Geez!
I bet C3PO spells labor "labour" and the Tin Man doesn't. 🙂
Also, C3PO seems to have a better tailor.
Never thought about the Star Wars-WOZ connection. But I *have* done the Pink Floyd "Dark Side of the Moon"/WOZ experiment. There are some pretty eerie coincidences, but it's honestly a little tedious.
The Domino's interface is an elegant piece of work. Their pizza isn't great but it has gotten better; most of all, it's a good solution for the kids when we have a Date Night.
Ah Wendy, but who could deny the resemblance between The Cowardly Lion and the Wookie? Okay, one would eat your face off, but beyond that…
Devon, I've been doing the same. Let's hope those budgets magically reappear in 2011!
Cathy, while the Tin Man is doing the "labour", C3PO is whining about it.
Their pizza is better, Jake, I agree. I've never been a fan of it, but they meant it when they said they improved. I'm more of a Papa John's fan. And naturally, we don't have one locally.
Okay, I can't argue with the Chewie/Cowardly Lion one. I would have to disagree with the Wizard/Yoga one though.
The wizard didn't actually have any powers, but he put on a big show to make it look like he did. The Storm Troopers were said to be "precise" with their laser-shooting skills. But, if you noticed, they never could seem to hit their target. Only off-screen.
Apparently, I'm not the only one thinking this – http://www.cogulus.com/archive/starwars/index.html
Huh? Huh? 🙂
….and R2D2 is Toto. I get it even if the others mock you, Lori. LOL.
Luckily we have a couple of amazing locally owned pizza places in my area so I've never had Domino's. The one time I Papa John's I wasn't impressed. (That said the BEST pizza I've ever had is Bill's Pizza in Mundelein and Grayslake IL. I swear my brother only purchases homes within 2 minutes of a Bill's Pizza. Even a lot of people from Chicago make the trek out to the northern 'burbs for it. One time we picked up some pizza when we had a garage sale at my brother's house and half the "shoppers" ID'd it by scent. The crust is the perfect combination of crispy and "toothy" if you know what I mean. The sauce is spicey. The toppings are fresh – huge olives. Love it.) Great. Now I'm hungry, and I won't be near a Bill's Pizza until Christmas.
Always appreciate new ways of looking at "old" concepts/ processes. My two favorite takeaways from this list:
Keep learning new things.
Deliver your best every time.
On a vaguely related note, any truth to the rumor* that if you watch The Wizard of Oz while playing Sgt. Pepper & wearing a
C3P0 mask you can see Paul's double from the Abbey Road album cover hiding behind the tree where one of the flying monkeys supposedly hung itself?
* Full disclosure: I just made up this rumor
* Extra disclosure: I need to stop reading conspiracty/urban legend websites
Isn't Chicago famous for its pizza, Paula? No wonder Papa John's was a disappointment. I love it. The whole thing is just fresher than anything beyond homemade.
Hugh, I thought it was playing The Dark Side of the Moon while frozen like Han Solo would make you feel like you ate a bushel of flying monkeys? Am I confusing that with something else? 🙂
My lesson learned from Dominos: you really can't deliver a quality product in 30 minutes or less, so take a little more time and do it right. Oh, and Avoid the Noid. I'm not really sure what that means, but I make it a point to eschew men in form-fitting red body suits.
Amie, I think avoiding men in red body suits is always good advice. LOL