MaineBusiness.com

There's a wonderful interview with Robert Stephens, the man who invented The Geek Squad, in the Wall Street Journal. It concentrates mostly on how and why he started a business.

The how is interesting because he started with only $200 as seed money:

"It was very easy. If you think about it, the reason that most service companies stink is that you don't need much money to get into them. All I needed was business cards and a phone number. If I did a good job, if I worked enough hours, if people liked me, I'd get referrals. I grew it one step at a time, one employee at a time."

There were two things going on here. First, his business had low barriers to entry. His biggest assets were his brain and talent. Second, he had simple short-term goals. He grew with incremental gains.

At some point, that incremental growth wasn't feasible. He really needed another mechanism to expand Geek Squad. After ruling out franchising and investors, he sold the business to Best Buy. It seemed a natural fit to put the Geek Squad next to Best Buy's electronics. Other businesses were partnering in a way that "one brand could live in another, in harmony."

It's an interesting option if you're looking to expand your business. Is there a symbiotic relationship that works for your business? Think about it while having coffee in L.L. Bean's Freeport store.

Stephens bragged that he glamorized computer repair. I don't know if glamor is the right word. But he created a fun brand image. His techs wore uniforms that consisted of black pants that emphasized their white socks, white short-sleeve shirts and pocket protectors. When Volkswagen brought back the Beetle, Geek Squad turned them into Geek Mobiles. The shape already stood out. Putting huge Geek Squad logos on the dome-shaped cars made his business stand out more.

Could the tiny Smart Cars do something similar for your brand?

So let's end this with Stephens looking into his crystal ball. If you're looking for the next big thing, consider what he has to say about mobile technology:

"If I were to tell any kid what to get into, I would say mobile phone screens. Normal people are becoming geekified. Ever go to a cocktail party, and people whip out their cell phones to check Wikipedia and say "aha Sonny Bono was elected in 1987." It's almost like the invasion of the iPhone snatchers."