Looking back- 7 Years ago-SCOTTEVEST-SeV

This past week during the anniversary sale has given me an opportunity to look back at my experiences while starting and growing www.scottevest.com. (see picture of me in 2001 wearing first eVEST Version 1.0 prototype). It seems like yesterday when I first came up with the idea of carrying your gadgets stylishly, but looking back, it has clearly been a "long strange trip" (not my words) and a tremendous learning experience on so many levels. When I first came up with the idea, I was working at a dotcom start-up (www.Next50.com) commuting from Chicago to NJ every week, working for a complete idiot.

Many people ask me what was the hardest thing about starting SeV. I think the fear of failure was the hardest thing. Once I thought it through and accepted the fact that it could fail, I never looked back. I think the hardest thing for me was making the initial decision to pursue this idea, and trying to figure out how to start. I knew it was a good idea, but good ideas are a dime a dozen. The devil is truly in the implementation and execution.

As a practicing lawyer, learning how to do something and doing it, rather than just talking about it, did not come naturally. (Sorry for all the lawyers out there, but that was my experience) So, I made a list. Sounds simple, right? But it was not really that easy to do. I kept adding to it over time, and the most important thing is to be able to cross off things as you complete them. I maintain this practice even today. Some days the list grows exponentially, and nothing gets crossed off, which is frustrating.

It is important for me to remember that growing a successful business cannot be done by yourself. I am thankful to have had a team of good and talented people who have helped us grow SeV.

My advice is simple: if you have an idea, and it's a good idea, then go for it. You will never know unless you try.

Thanks so much for making SeV everything that it has become.

Scott

Pictures of My Poodles in the Snow

I took some cool pictures of my dogs (Standard Poodles to be precise) today. For those of you who don't know much about poodles, they are incredibly smart, and athletic (actually hunting dogs) but they don't shed. Our life (when not at work or skiing) pretty much revolves around them. They are our kids, but they don't talk back :-). I get to walk to work everyday with them, about 2 miles. Its very nice to be able to work with our dogs.

Feel free to post pics of your dogs, or let me know what you think about poodles, or your variety. There seem to be tons of Labrodoodle and Goldendoodles, but I think those are kind of goofy, for guys who don't want to say they have a poodle.

Ok so I'm a little crazy about my dogs. What dog lover isn't.

I hope everyone had a great weekend. We did, but only 2 weeks of skiing left.

Scott

More Choices on SCOTTEVEST/SeV New Look/Feel -your opinions wanted

We have been busy working on www.scottevest.com's new look/feel. Check out all the comps shown here and feel free to chime in with your opinions. It is still a work in progress, but the general idea is there. We are trying to combine elements of fabrics/textiles into the website to show people how cool the product is. One of the biggest issues we have had with the website for years is that most people love the site, but are surprised how cool the products are when they receive them. So, we are trying to make the website as cool as the products.

We plan to implement TONS of video into the new site, so you can actually see the product in action. Let me know if you think we are moving in the right direction.

On a personal note, I tried to go skiing today. The wind was 30-40mph steady. 10 degrees BELOW zero with wind chill. I did one run and that was all I could handle.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Scott

My new Vehicle-VW Westfalia

This post is a bit personal, but I wanted to share it with everyone. After months of searching for a vintage VW Westfalia, I finally found one and it is one its way from Virgina now. You can see a whole bunch of pics here.

It is a 1970 VW Westfalia that has been stored for the last 18 years, and restored. I am so excited to get it, and do lots of camping this summer.

I must say that the VW community is comprised of a great bunch of people, especially the seller of this particular bus. They have been very helpful.

We are trying to come up with a cool name for the bus, with cool plates. My wife, Laura, wants "OLD BUS" for the plates.

Let me know if you have any preferences, or feel free to chime in with your VW stories.

I hope everyone has an awesome weekend. It is snowing BIG TIME here in Sun Valley, Idaho, and I can't wait to go skiing. The season is almost over.

Scott

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Get your own

Bring in the Comps!

Comps, Mock-ups, Samples, Maquettes, Sketches... whatever you want to call them, a lot of our time at SeV is spent developing ideas for "what's next." Here are a few sample backgrounds for our ongoing website upgrades. The theme is going to be a very cool combination of tech & textile that really shows what is central to SeV as a company.



#1, #2, #3 or #4? ;-) (click the pic for a bigger view)




See #1 and #2 in context

What do you think about these options for the site background? Have a favorite? Think we should go back to the drawing board? We're also considering new taglines, so check out the poll > and let me know what you think. All feedback is appreciated!

Have you Seen Barack Obama's Speech on Race?

If you haven't seen Barack's Obama's recent speech on racial relations/issues, I highly encourage you to watch it. A link to You Tube Version is here. I have made a point not to make any endorsements through www.scottevest.com since so many of our customers have very diverse viewpoints, from the tons of military men serving with honor in Afghanistan and Iraq, to the many students supporting Obama, etc. I just think this was an amazing speech, and worth watching.

Scott

PS: Although this is not intended to be a marketing entry, if you have not done so, check out our anniversary sale here.

SeV to appear in another book --"Personality Not Included: Why Companies Lose Their Authenticity And How Great Brands Get it Back"

http://www.amazon.com/Personality-Not-Included-Companies-Authenticity/dp/0071545212/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206416090&sr=1-1

I can't tell you how honored I was to get a call from noted author, Rohit Bhargav, http://rohitbhargava.typepad.com/weblog/, who heard about www.SCOTTEVEST.com's success of creating a new brand, with personality. SeV is featured as a case study on how companies can succeed by having a clear personality. The book is called "Personality Not Included: Why Companies Lose Their Authenticity And How Great Brands Get it Back". It is available on pre-order from Amazon at the link above. The description is shown below.

I have one being sent to me, and I will let you know my thoughts. While searching in Amazon, I discovered that SCOTTEVEST is mentioned in no less than 20 textbooks, plus this one and some others I am aware of. It is awesome to think that an idea I had precisely 7 years ago has generated this much interest. I never thought it would be this much fun, and as those who know me well, this sure beats practicing law. I am considering writing my own book, tentatively titled, "Escape from the Law". I am just kidding, I think ....




Book Description

Marketing expert, social media guru, and mega-trendsetter Rohit Bhargava explains how faceless companies don't work anymore. In a world where consumers have more access to information than ever, and more power to share their voice...a brand's identity is no longer controlled through marketing and advertising. In this new era, what you say your brand stands for is no longer good enough. What you demonstrate to your customers matters most. This is the power of your personality. Personality Not Included is an essential guide for brands on putting back the missing ingredient in their marketing to build loyal customers, foster consumer (and employee) evangelists, and create a connection that goes beyond profit. The future of business requires new authenticity. Personality is the secret weapon that brings authentic brands to life.

About the Author

Rohit Bhargava is SVP of Digital Strategy and a founding member of the 360 Digital Influence group at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, one of the world's largest marketing and communications agencies. He authors the award-winning Influential Marketing blog, is a sought after marketing speaker and has been featured in media worldwide including The Wall Street Journal, Marketing China and BrandWeek. Read about Rohit's latest updates and appearances at http://rohitbhargava.typepad.com/weblog/

Wow, what a sale-Best Single Day ever in SeV history

I would like to thank everyone for shopping yesterday at www.scottevest.com. It was the best single day ever in SeV history!!! Thanks so much. We are running out of lost of things/sizes, so if you want to save 50%, you should act fast. See the prior post for the details. Only 10 more days left...

Thanks, and have a happy Easter everyone.

Scott

SeV on TV this Weekend

We don't watch much TV, but I happened to have it on TBS the other night and saw a promo commercial for their Sunday movie, Sahara. The thing that really caught my attention was that almost every shot of Matthew McConaughey showed him wearing an SeV vest! A few years ago we worked with the production to provide wardrobe pieces, which they used extensively in the opening boat chase scene. Of course it's cool to see your product on screen, but when you happen to see it accidentally it's a welcome surprise!

Check it out on Sunday night on TBS - it's airing a few times.

SCOTTEVEST/SeV Celebrates its 7th Anniversary with 50% off Secret Sale and $5 ground shipping

Well, it's been more than 7 years since we first introduced the world to www.scottevest.com. As our loyal customers know, we run a HUGE sale to celebrate our anniversary every year. We’re kicking off the Anniversary Sale with a Secret Sale just for you, our loyal customers - it is not open to the public and these deals will not appear anywhere on the site. As in the past, we may open it to the public later but we expect many sizes and colors to be gone by then, so we recommend shopping early for the best selection. As always, all sales are final on Anniversary Sale items.

Celebrate SeV’s 7^th Anniversary by stocking up on some of your old favorites and trying out some new items. Take advantage of combining stuff with our $5 Ground Shipping offer (for Continental US only). Please read “The Fine Print” below to learn the coupon code and other details you’ll need to take advantage of the savings.

The Deals…

ITEM	Normal PRICE	PRICE WITH COUPON CODE	SIZES AVAILABLE* * at the beginning of the sale
Classic Vest 4.0	$140	$70	S,L, XL,XXL,XXXL,LT,XLT,XXLT, XXXLT
237D	$140	$70	S, M, L, XL, XXL
Fleece 4.0	$100	$50	S, M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL, LT
Tactical 4.0	$230	$115	Small through XXXL Tall
Tactical System	$300	$150	S, M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL, LT
Rodeo	$200	$100	S, M, XL, XXL, XXXL, XLT, XXXLT

The Fine Print…

□ 50% Off Selected Items

□ You must enter the coupon code SECRET7SALE in the coupon code box during the checkout process to get the price reduction.

□ ALL SALES FINAL—NO RETURNS OR EXCHANGES ON ANNIVERSARY SALE ITEMS

□ Anniversary Sale pricing cannot be applied to prior purchases.

□ Anniversary Sale offer cannot be combined with any other offer.

□ Only for prior customers.

□ Only for in stock items.

□ Only while supplies last.

□ Anniversary Sale pricing in effect from Thursday, March 20, 2008 through midnight on Sunday, March 30, 2008.

NEWS

□ The Evolution Jacket is now available in Marine Blue.

□ Hidden Cargo Pants and Ultimate Cargo Pants are in production and will be in stock in May. We are not accepting back orders, but will send an email as soon as they are available.

□ You may have noticed that our site is changing! We’re knee-deep in updating our site to be as cool and useful as our products. Look for videos, reviews and interactive features rolling out soon. This is the start of the SeV Revolution!

□ Pssst… check out our iPod® spoof for a taste of what’s to come…

Your loyalty means a lot to us! Thanks again for your continued support!

Sincerely,

Scott

Scott Jordan, CEO and Founder
scott@scottevest.com

Listen to Scott on WGN Radio Interview Tomorrow -Saturday at 8:45pm ET

I just got a call from the nationally syndicated radio station, www.WGN.com in Chicago, 720 on your AM dial. I will be interviewed about technology and clothing on the Technology Tailor show, at about 8:45pm ET tomorrow night, Saturday. You can listen online. http://wgnradio.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=96&Itemid=169

What do you carry?/What I carry everyday.

We are soliciting opinions on what people typically carry with them daily to help us make our designs better. Being located in Sun Valley, Idaho, I don't travel terribly much, but in my recent trips to NYC and Las Vegas, I found that I carry more items than usual and needed them to be readily accessible, e.g., boarding passes, ID, etc. These trips have helped me come up with the newly designed Travel Vest and Essential Jacket. So, if you have a moment, please post on this blog or send to me at scott@scottevest.com (preferably post) the items you: (1) always carry, (2) would like to carry if you could, and (3) carry only when traveling. See below for my list:

Click To Play

1. Items I Always Carry:

• Blackberry 8830 with BlueAnt Headset
• iTouch 16gig, with wires
• Keys
• SunGlasses
• Chapstick
• Change
• Business Cards
• Gloves, in winter
• Poop bags for my dogs
• Mints
• Treats for my dogs
• Pen
  

2. Things I would carry with me if I could:

• Well, this is kind of difficult for me, since that's why I invented the SCOTTEVEST, to carry with me everything I want to carry, so having said that, it would be cool to have a pocket for snacks that would keep them fresh/warm/cold. I am working on it :)

3. Things I carry when I travel, in addition to above 1

• Tons of extra cords to recharge the above devices
• Boarding Pass
• Tablet Computer, and cords to charge
• Portable GPS unit
• I forgot to mention my digital camera, which I often have with me everyday too
  

I am sure I am missing some things, but this is off the top of my head. Please let me know what you carry.

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I plan to go skiing, hopefully, if I can beat this cold/fever I have had now for 2 weeks.

Scott

Great News- United States Golf Association Loves the New Travel Vest!

I wanted to share some awesome news I just got yesterday. The United States Golf Association, USGA, was evaluating the new Travel Vest for the upcoming Senior Open in July. I am not sure how they heard about us, but I am sure glad they did.

Immediately after getting the samples, I got this email:

Hi Scott, the vest is a big hit and we will probably be placing an order for the USGA's Sr. Open being held in July.... You sure did invent a masterpiece! [emphasis added :)]

Have a great day -

U.S. Amateur & Senior Open Championships

United States Golf Association

www.usga.org

I just love getting this kind of feedback!

New Book Quotes Scott Jordan, getting great reviews

http://www.truebluetitan.com/books/recommended-reading-bounce

Click this link to read a review of a book by my friend Barry Moltz, that focused on my quote within a much longer book.

Barry Moltz is an entrepreneur at his core. Over the past 15 years he has founded several businesses, and while he has tasted success, he has also become quite familiar with failure as well. In Bounce!, Barry embraces this and talks about how he was able to let go of his past successes and failures and recognizing it for what it is: a part of the business cycle.

We have all experienced failure. The day after I finished Bounce! I received an email from the HR department of a company that I had interviewed with. They decided to choose another candidate over me. I really wanted this job; it seemed like a perfect fit for my skill set, and everyone I met with seemed to be very pleased with my professional background. I felt as if I could see the light at the end of the tunnel, and then it went dark.

I was crushed. My friends and family constantly ask me how my job search is going, and I now had to tell them the job that I could have sworn I was going to get was gone. This was the first time in 8 years that I had interviewed for a position and not been offered the job. Without thinking, as soon as I read the email, I said aloud, “You failed”.

“Without some failures, you cannot have success. Every successful venture involves failures. Given that, I prefer not to use the term failure. It is an ugly and definitive word and it implies an ending point. Rather, I use the term disappointment; it is not scary or definitive.”

After slothfully laying around my apartment for a day, I decided that I needed to bounce! So I picked up Barry’s book and flipped through the 50 or so pages that I dog-eared for inspiration. On page 87, I found what I needed. Here, Barry quotes Scott Jordan, the founder of Scottevest who said, “Without some failures, you cannot have success. Every successful venture involves failures. Given that, I prefer not to use the term failure. It is an ugly and definitive word and it implies an ending point. Rather, I use the term disappointment; it is not scary or definitive.”

After reading this, I sat back in my office chair, stared out of the window, and smiled. I was alive, I still had the strong backing of my peers and there was work to do! Sure, not getting the job was a disappointment, but that was all it was. It didn’t mean that I was unemployable. In fact, I now had more time to work on the projects that I have spent the last 3 months developing. I actually felt more motivated than ever. This was my low point. I am resilient and I can bounce!

Confidence & Passion

I could not have picked a better time to read this book. Because of Bounce! I was able to quickly place myself in the right mindset, and maintain the confidence and passion that I need to succeed. I am passionate about my ideas and need to make an impact, it will become a reality.

I Recommend This Book

Bounce!is an easy read. I read it from cover to cover in a day, and while it did not take me a long time to read, I was quite surprised as to how quickly it changed my outlook on business. Bounce! is a book that contains information that you will use in your life. Buy it, read it, and pass it along. Everyone needs to learn how to Bounce!

Linux Journal Video-Funniest Ever!

http://www.linuxjournal.com/video/review-scott-e-vest

You have got to see this YouTube Video from Linux Journal. Watch after 2 minutes or so, and you will see a very funny interview of the Super Spy. It is truly hilarious.

Scott

Tons of New Reviews Posted Today, including Todays MNBC.com Review

Today, we got an awesome write-up on MSNBC.com, see http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23447978/. In addition, we posted a bunch of other recent reviews here: http://community.scottevest.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=45, including, among many others, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and some pdf's of some recent catalogs too.

We are really on a roll now. The new products are doing VERY well!

Please tell your friends about us.

On a more personal note, today I am really excited to finally meet my graphic designer in person. We have been working together for about 2 years now, but only remote. To reward him for his good work, I am flying him to Sun Valley for a ski vacation.

Please keep reading and feel free to add your comments.

Scott

PS: check out the new homepage celeb box at the bottom. www.scottevest.com. We are finally telling people about some of our more famous customers!

Black HomePage is Winning so far- need advise on how to proceed on this blog

Although it has been only a few days, it appears that the black homepage is winning by a slight margin. As a result, we will be moving to an all black wider website in the coming weeks, and adding tons of cool video demos and graphics by May. This will ultimately be a completely new look and feel for the brand and image. One of the comments we often get is that the product when received is so much cooler than it appears online, and we are going to try to fix that with the new website.

On a more personal note, I am trying to decide the best direction to go with this blog. As you can see I have not posted terribly much recently as I am not sure if people want to learn only about deals and SeV news, or more personal information about what it is like to run SeV from a behind the scene point of view. I am happy to share this information but only want to do so if someone is reading. Please let me know your thoughts on this very important issue.

It is beautiful here today in Sun Valley, Idaho, and I plan on taking a few ski runs on the mountain soon. If you have never been to Sun Valley, you should put it on your list.

Scott