First Ever Inside Reference to My Novel
This is probably the first ever inside reference to my novel. The funny part is that when I read TJIC's post, I thought "hmm, Preston Marsh, where have I heard that name?" LOL. By the way, the business idea Travis has is actually intriguing
Restaurants get napkins and linens as a service "“ every day, they trade huge bags of dirty whites for clean whites. They are in the business of cooking food and hiring wait staff, not in the business of knowing how to bleach things (or in the business of picking out linens that can stand up to bleach).
So what does clothing as a service entail? It could include cleaning, sizing, rotating wardrobes as fashions change, etc.
It removes some hassles, and bundles responsibilities in the place where there are economies of scale "“ people in the fashion industry can and will know more about sizing, cleaning, coordinating, etc. than consumers.
I and others have thoughts on the model in the comments.
By the way, for those who have not read my book, Preston Marsh is an entrepreneur who has made money in a series of sortof odd business models. Years ago I used to get bored at parties (actually, I still get bored at parties but I no longer use this entertainment technique) and make up occupations for myself. I remember convincing one woman who had recent evidence that I could not ski well that I was on the Olympic Ski Jumping Team ("You don't have to turn in ski jumping!")
Anyway, all the business models in the books are ones I made up for myself on the fly at parties. One involves building fountains in malls and then recouping the investment by harvesting coins from them. Another, which is central to the book, is a sort of guerrilla marketing startup which does some lifestyle consulting with teens but makes its money placing products in the hands of the coolest, trendsetting teens at high schools (a model that has since been emulated by a couple of real-life companies).
By the way, the book is still on sale at Amazon and available on the Kindle for download. Just search "BMOC."
DrTorch:
Hmm,
"placing products in the hands of the coolest, trendsetting teens at high schools "
Sounds like the storyline behind "Keeping up with the Jonses."
December 28, 2010, 2:40 pmDan:
I wonder if I, as president of the Science club, audio lead on the stage crew, and 2nd string chess club, could have extracted royalties for not being seen in public with particular products. Especially since both of my brothers would have fit the BMOC demographic.
December 28, 2010, 3:50 pmmorganovich:
if you want a fun job to fake, try "interventional phrenologist".
you'll be amazed how few people ask what that is.
you'll be even more amazed by the number of people who are willing to believe that you can get them to quit smoking or make them more fastidious by putting their head in a vise overnight...
December 28, 2010, 6:04 pmBearster:
Warren, the idea of clothing as a service is pretty cool. But I break down all business ideas I have into two categories: bubble economy ideas vs. new normal ideas. Clothing as a service is clearly bubble economy. In the new normal, more and more people will be wearing old clothes: fashion-wise, as well as simply worn.
December 29, 2010, 9:04 amcaseyboy:
This stuff takes me back to the days when I was candle wax recycling specialist. Really big in central Europe. You'd be surprised how many people would mistake Pig-Latin for Croatian. Alas I had to give up that profession when the Berlin Wall fell (no one ever asked what that had to to do with recycling wax).
Fortunately I was able to get a job with the FCC as a radio frequency averaging engineer. What was that you ask? I'd go around to all the radio stations in a city and take down the frequency they used to broadcast and then I'd average them out to a common average frequency. This was very important work because it would allow the FCC to determine what frequencies to authorize in order to bring the local average back to the national average. After all it isn't right for one location to have a higher average frequency than another.
Now I work for the Obama administration as a Tea Party plant. If you look closely you'll see me at their rallies holding bigoted signs like, Croats eat recycled wax, Houston's frequency is higher than NYC's, It takes one to know one, the South's gonna rise again. Its the oddest job I've ever had.
December 29, 2010, 9:11 amcaseyboy:
Ah now this takes me back to the good old days. I remember when I was an ear wax recycling specialist. Worked with doctors, clinics and hospitals collecting ear wax removed from patients. We’d recycle it to make candles. Very big deal in Central Europe. You’d be surprised how many people could mistake Pig-Latin for Croatian. Alas I had to give that up when the Berlin Wall fell (no one really asked what that had to do with recycling ear wax).
Fortunately I got a job right away with the Federal Communications Commission as a radio frequency averaging engineer. It was my job to visit all the radio stations in a city and record the frequency on which they broadcast. I would then average the individual frequencies to a common average frequency for the city. This was very important work in that it enabled the FCC to determine the frequencies to be authorized for new stations so that the average for the city would come in line with the national average. After all it isn’t fair for one city to have a higher average frequency then another city. Unfortunately my math skills were not real good and I got some averages that were actually outside the assigned spectrum. That really got the boss fired up and some stations closed.
But now I have my dream job working for the Obama administration. I’m in charge of doing all the stimulus accounting as well as determining jobs saved or created. It turns out my math skills are well suited for this job. And having worked with ear wax hasn't hurt either (inside joke).
December 29, 2010, 9:26 amcaseyboy:
Ah now this takes me back to the good old days. I remember when I was an ear wax recycling specialist. Worked with doctors, clinics and hospitals collecting ear wax removed from patients. We’d recycle it to make candles. Very big deal in Central Europe. You’d be surprised how many people could mistake Pig-Latin for Croatian. Alas I had to give that up when the Berlin Wall fell (no one really asked what that had to do with recycling ear wax).
Fortunately I got a job right away with the Federal Communications Commission as a radio frequency averaging engineer. It was my job to visit all the radio stations in a city and record the frequency on which they broadcast. I would then average the individual frequencies to a common average frequency for the city. This was very important work in that it enabled the FCC to determine the frequencies to be authorized for new stations so that the average for the city would come in line with the national average. After all it isn’t fair for one city to have a higher average frequency then another city. Unfortunately my math skills were not real good and I got some averages that were actually outside the assigned spectrum. That really got the boss fired up and some stations closed.
But now I have my dream job working for the Obama administration. I’m in charge of doing all the stimulus accounting as well as determining jobs saved or created. It turns out my math skills are well suited for this job. My ear wax experience doesn't hurt either (inside joke).
December 29, 2010, 11:45 amPat:
I read your book on my vacation. I really enjoyed it. Well done, Warren.
Regarding the comment above, when I read your book I thought of the movie "Keeping Up with the Joneses" which I'd rented a few months ago. The business in that movie was very similar to your BMOC. Knowing your tremendous integrity, I wondered if the writers of the movie stole the idea from you, or if it was a case of "great minds think alike."
Other than the basic concept of the fictional business, your book and the movie were entirely different, and, frankly, yours would've been a better movie.
Again, I really enjoyed your book, and I recommend it.
January 1, 2011, 2:55 pm