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Garrett Smallwood

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User Development, Redbeacon Inc.

148 points

My experience stems from real world and past job results; Extremely strong web management and sales skills. Extensive experience in client management and consumer development. Hands-on expertise in driving bottom line results while producing a more rewarding experience. Superlative communication ...

My experience stems from real world and past job results; Extremely strong web management and sales skills. Extensive experience in client management and consumer development. Hands-on expertise in driving bottom line results while producing a more rewarding experience. Superlative communication and team building skills. Long standing ability to manage multiple tasks in an ongoing pressured environment. Ability to balance competing priorities and manage multiple projects at the same time. Constantly trying to find innovative ways to do business. I am always trying to put technical ideas to work.

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May 4, 2011

Garrett Smallwood recommends this answer by Dan Waldschmidt

Should sales and marketing have SLA’s between the two organizations? Why/why not?

My big problem with this discussion is that we assume that a piece of paper is going to magically solve the gap in leadership and communication that is causing this performance problem in the first place.
It's "lipstick on a pig" strategy.
Better conversations, more ... more

Marketing Department

Sales Department

May 3, 2011

Garrett Smallwood asked a question

Do Internet entrepreneurs peak at 25?

May 3, 2011

Garrett Smallwood recommends this answer by Scott Albro

What is Focus's policy on disclosing "material connections" when answering questions?

Here are some key points to understand regarding the disclosure of material connections on Focus. These are meant to serve as guidelines as opposed to hard and fast rules. Also, please note that these guidelines are informed more by the spirit of the Focus community ... more

April 29, 2011

Garrett Smallwood and 3 other people answered this question

We will be hosting a roundtable on Sony PlayStation's breach. What Q&A do you have for our Experts?

Why didn't Sony announce what it knew in the first place? What were they gaining by hiding the attack?
April 20th:
"Sony took its first public step by closing down the two networks, but it didn't disclose what it already knew: the networks had been hacked
Sony ... more

Information Technology

April 29, 2011

Garrett Smallwood and 5 other people answered this question

What resources can a plumber use to maximize their website?

You probably don't have much money for marketing, so it's a good idea to sign up with a company who does the marketing for you. It's a good idea to brand your name based on the city and areas you service.
Lead generation services are always ... more

April 19, 2011

Garrett Smallwood and 7 other people answered this question

Which recently released business book has best shaped how you think about the future of business?

I'm reading "Founders at Work - Stories of Startups' Early Days" by Jessica Livingston. It features interviews with the founders of:
Yahoo!
Flickr
Firefox
Del.icio.us
Craigslist
Blogger
Paypal
Gmail
Just to name a few, it's truly inspiring and a sentiment to these founders creativity and unmatched abilities. It definitely is a must read for ... more

General Management

April 11, 2011

Garrett Smallwood recommends this answer by Richard Stiennon

What do companies need to know about DDoS attacks and how to prevent them?

First thing to know about DDoS attacks is that they are VERY EXPENSIVE to defend against. Because a distributed denial of service attack aims to use up your resources you have to invest in more resources to defend against them.
First: review your infrastructure. If ... more

Information Technology

Denial of Service

April 11, 2011

Garrett Smallwood recommends this answer by Robert Keahey

What is the best way to find an investor?

Not to sound facetious, but it's easy to find investors. Getting them to invest is hard!
From the description, it sounds like the business is not an early stage company since they have a revenue stream. Angel investors normally do not deal in late stage or ... more

March 26, 2011

Garrett Smallwood and 1 other person answered this question

How will Groupon sustain business?

Hey Cece,
I appreciate your attempt at answering my question - But I'm already aware that Groupon is down, and down big. I'm more interested in where they will take there business, what can Groupon offer that others can't? I know that there are hundreds, maybe ... more

Business 2 Business

Sales & Business Development

March 25, 2011

Garrett Smallwood answered this question

Where do startups post their job openings?

I believe that a really new startup will recruit people through prior networking. Unless you've already raised a Series-A, then you are really looking for people that love the idea and are willing to put in a ton of work to make it happen.. for ... more

Human Resources

Career Development

March 25, 2011

Garrett Smallwood and 3 other people answered this question

How does voting work on Focus?

I completely agree with the fact that votes need to be separated. Who knows someone with power @Focus? more

March 24, 2011

Garrett Smallwood asked a question

With @Color $41M funding round, what's next for Mobile Networking?

General Management

Information Technology

Business Development

March 12, 2011

Garrett Smallwood and 1 other person answered this question

Do you have experience with mobile credit card provider Square?

Most recently I heard about Square being used at Facebook HQ by some Girl Scouts to sell cookies (no joke, http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/selling-girl-scout-cookies-facebook/149003/) a good friend who bought some told me it was a pretty rewarding and seamless experience + who doesn't like the cookies?
I know that ... more

Information Technology

Credit Card Merchant

Credit Card Operations

March 9, 2011

Garrett Smallwood and 2 other people answered this question

Is Apple charging for Xcode a bad idea?

I have no idea why everyone is making a big deal out of the $5.00 charge for the new Xcode. If it saves me the time of having to go to the developer site to download updates, it's well worth it. From just a glance ... more

Information Technology

Software Development

March 9, 2011

Garrett Smallwood and 2 other people answered this question

What are some internal communication tools that you use to help your employees collaborate?

I'm a fan of:
https://www.yammer.com/ - awesome and fun
https://www.dropbox.com/ - easy way to share music/pictures/important docs
http://www.google.com/talk/ -simple chat / video
http://mashable.com/2009/02/15/twitter-groups-3/ - follow coworkers in the social world!
http://foursquare.com/ - check where my buddies are getting lunch
There is more, but I don't want companies to crash because of ... more

Information Technology

Collaboration Tools

March 9, 2011

Garrett Smallwood and 3 other people answered this question

How can you measure the effectiveness of a Twitter Channel?

I'm a huge fan of Klout: http://klout.com/
"The Klout Score is the measurement of your overall online influence. The scores range from 1 to 100 with higher scores representing a wider and stronger sphere of influence. Klout uses over 35 variables on Facebook and Twitter to ... more

Customer Service

Deborah Schultz

March 9, 2011

Garrett Smallwood and 2 other people answered this question

Where does a 2-person business start?: FB, blog, Twitter, etc., or wait until we can do it all?

I think the even better question would be what is your business' focus? Do you own a deli? Probably wouldn't help to have a twitter.
In general, I strongly believe that Social Media Tools (SMT) need to be utilized as a whole.
* Twitter feeds ... more

March 8, 2011

Garrett Smallwood and 2 other people answered this question

What are your thoughts on voicemail-to-text services? How impacted is this space?

Hey Roger thanks for clarifying.
I currently use Google Voice with my Gmail account (garrps (at) gmail.com) and it receives all my voice mails and transmits them to text. Although it is hardly ever correct.
Call centers are the ones who really utilize this product the ... more

Information Technology

Voicemail-to-text

March 8, 2011

Garrett Smallwood is now following Paul Salinger

March 8, 2011

Garrett Smallwood answered this question

What does the iPad mean to the future of sales and marketing?

Lauren I think this question has already been acknowledged through the communities actions. In Silicon Valley I see a handful of iPad users every time I step out for lunch, either checking in on email, pitching a presentation, or offering a insight on a product ... more

Information Technology

March 8, 2011

Garrett Smallwood and 3 other people answered this question

Why do folks continue to market technology job openings with the words "ninja" or "rockstar"?

I've had the same experience on several occasions, although not only with Ninja, but Rockstar, Superstar, Cookie Cutter, Guru, etc. I believe that these terms lighten up the mood for small businesses or startups. They allow you to feel more comfortable with what they are ... more

Cliched Business Terms

March 8, 2011

Garrett Smallwood answered this question

What are the smallest BIG businesses in the U.S.?

I'd have to offer the idea that www.Craigslist.org is a great example of a BIG business, running off a lean select crew. I believe Craigslist reached over $80 million in revenue in 2008, and was valued at over $5 billion with over 20 billion page ... more

General Management

March 7, 2011

Garrett Smallwood and 4 other people answered this question

What are the best ways to connect with your customers?

From personal experience, I believe before initiating that first contact - it's necessary to brand yourself and your product. It's best to reach out by offering a compelling idea through email or a social blog that links convincingly to your brand, rather then reaching out ... more

Customer Service

Customer Engagement

Customer Excellence

Customer Experience Innovation

March 7, 2011

Garrett Smallwood and 5 other people answered this question

What are the negative impacts of social networks on businesses?

I agree with what Michael has said above, but I believe a "Network Effect" needs to be considered as well.
For every person that doesn't provide adequate information, or mis marks there true interests, the congestion begins to decrease the value of a network n+1 for ... more

Public Relations

Following 9 Topics

Employee Engagement

Information Technology

Talent Management

Following 1 Person

Followed by 6 People

Knowledgeable in 30 Topics

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