OpenSky Blog

We are extremely excited to welcome Mary Ann Naples to the OpenSky team!  Mary Ann comes to OpenSky from The Creative Culture, Inc- a literary and talent agency that primarily represents lifestyle non-fiction authors that she co-founded over a decade ago.  Mary Ann has achieved great success in representing authors whose books have helped enhanced the lives of their readers.  Mary Ann’s unique experience, creativity and expertise will be a tremendous opportunity for the OpenSky Shopkeepers.

Throughout her career she has been very innovative and successful at maximizing and clarifying the brands of authors and pioneering the digital landscape to the advantage of her clients and their brands.  At OpenSky she will provide that same leadership and support to enable the Shopkeepers to further strengthen their brands and monetize their influence. She will help Shopkeepers reach a larger audience in a more effective manner through books, TV, and other opportunities.  She will play a significant role in partnering with talent and literary agents and publishing companies to introduce the OpenSky platform to their talent.

We’re thrilled to welcome Mary Ann and her energy, creativity, and experience.

The Economist put out its special report on social networking in last week’s issue. It’s no surprise that much of the report focused on how businesses are integrating social networks into their growth strategies in an effort to reach customers they might not otherwise be able to reach. The report highlighted an equally important benefit that networks provide growing businesses – new ideas. Here’s an excerpt from the article:

Some small businesses are already using social networks to generate new ideas. After spending time on Twitter, employees of Cordarounds.com, a small American clothing company, noticed that many folk twittering in their area were using bicycles to get to work. So the firm produced a new line of trousers, dubbed “bike-to-work-pants”, with built-in reflective materials that make wearers more visible to traffic while cycling at night.

In conversations with Suppliers, it’s clear that generating new ideas for their business is a major benefit of joining OpenSky. The dynamic product discussions between Shopkeepers, Suppliers, and Shoppers in the OpenSky ecosystem will lead to brilliant new ideas for our Supplier partners.

We are constantly adding tools to facilitate this type of conversation in OpenSky. The newest tool we are rolling out is a micro-survey Twitter application called Tweetswell. Tweetswell was created by a great guy named Eric Chang. He gave OpenSky Shopkeeper Shane-Shirley Smith and I a webinar this week and we both came away excited by the possibilities. Tweetswell will enable Shopkeepers to engage their audience in exciting discussions around their favorite products. These conversations will provide real-time customer feedback to Suppliers. Customer feedback fosters new ideas. New ideas build exciting businesses. Exciting businesses create products that consumers love. This is what OpenSky is all about. Stay tuned next week for our first Tweetswell adventure!

Check out this cool Tweetswell video demo and an example Tweetswell survey.

12 new Shopkeepers have live shops in the OpenSky community, with passions ranging from organizing tools and tea, to products that help to simply live the Luscious Life.

Meet our New Shopkeepers……………………………..

Brian of Brian Schiff.com is a licensed physical therapist, strength coach, personal trainer, author and business owner.

Mara of What’s for dinner is a 29 year-old Spanish teacher in the suburbs of Chicago. She was brought up in a household where dinner as a family was a huge part of every evening. She has continued that tradition by cooking for her family and doing her best to put what she cooks in recipe form to share.

Melanie of Scout-A-Mom’s Guide to Stylish Living believes that being a mom doesn’t mean sacrificing your personal style and the things you love!

Evan Kleiman of KCRW’s Good Food is an author, consultant, restaurateur and radio host.

Monica of Monica on the Go started MonicaOnTheGo.com in late 2009 as a way to share her musings on running, cooking and her darling daughter.

Chef Jim of Kitchen Guy is a skilled chef, caterer, consultant and culinary instructor based in Western Montana. He was the culinary Federation’s Montana Chef of the Year in 2005. Chef Jim is seen every week on the popular “Kitchen Guy” TV series on stations throughout Montana.

Yolanda of The Luscious Life loves supporting women to have more passion in their lives without apologies. Her coaching is about empowering women to leave the “good enough life” and live lusciously.

One item she is featuring in her shop is Stila lip gloss, because “it makes the lips luscious and plump”.

Vince of Scordo.com aims to inform and entertain readers on how to live the Italian way! Specifically, Scordo focuses on food, recipes, products with an Italian bent, saving money, home and garden tips, and how to advice.

Gena of Mommy Matters Online is the editor Mommy Matters online, which is the comprehensive source for pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding and early parenting education, resources and products.

Drea of Simple is a busy wife to husband Travis, and a professional photographer. Simple stands for Showcasing, Interesting, Mom, Products, Loved, Everywhere.

Over the last 37 years, Kevin of Hunting Life has hunted as far north as Saskatchewan, owned an outfitting business, chased and guided elk hunters in Idaho and now is the President and CEO of HuntingLife.com.

Sarah Mae of Like A Warm cup of Coffee is a Jesus follower, wife, mother, home keeper, wild blue dreamer, and a java hugger. Like A warm cup of coffee is a place to journey alongside other women as they seek to find the eternal value in who they are, and what they do.

Ben of The Confessions of the Highly Motivated has a mission to represent the United States at the Olympic Games, to enjoy the process of becoming an Olympian, and to share those experiences with all the people who support him in his journey.

Kylee of Our Little Acre chronicles the adventures of a rural Ohio gardener and a camera. She shares what she knows, and what she is learning about plants, flowers, butterflies, insects and birds.

Lainie of Lainie Sips enjoys tea, and has amused her friends, work colleagues, and online acquaintances with her ongoing fascination with all things related to the Camellia sinensis (tea) plant.

Chef Andy of Lamb Before Thyme has been in love with cooking since age 7 when he prepared his first French dish, steak au poivre, while living in Morocco. He is currently Director of Curriculum at Cook Street School of Fine Cooking in Denver. His cooking style is simple yet elegant with an emphasis on using local, sustainable ingredients of the highest quality and allowing those products to shine.

The US economy is facing tremendous dislocation. Work isn’t available. Hiring is at a standstill. Real change has come to America. It is the brutal and fierce change of an economy that is leaving many talented people without a viable way to create economic value for themselves and their families. I read President Obama’s State of the Union speech this morning. I voted for him and believe he has the potential to be a great leader. In his speech he talks about “creating jobs” and job programs. This is goodness and I hope it will lead to better roads, high speed rail and other essential improvements to the basic infrastructure of our country.

But I do not believe it will create the energy our economy needs to flourish.

What we need today are platforms that talented people can use to create opportunity for themselves. Twitter is platform for establishing real time influence. YouTube is a platform for entertaining the world. Our OpenSky platform, while certainly young, is potentially as powerful. OpenSky is the way for people to take what they know, what they care about, and with the force of their ingenuity and relentless hard work and hustle, build a long-term commerce business for themselves.

If you’re a supplier or inventor of an amazing product, OpenSky is the distribution that you need. Our platform connects you to hundreds of taste-makers and millions of consumers. Make a great item and work like hell to get OpenSky Shopkeepers to sell your goods.

If you have expertise and are building a brand around your knowledge and passion, OpenSky can help you turn that energy into income. This requires hard work, tremendous focus and a commitment to excellence that your audience and consumers demand.

There really aren’t any shortcuts or easy solutions. Here at OpenSky, we’re taking as much of the friction away as we can: can’t afford inventory, you don’t have to; don’t have access to great goods, we do; can’t find people to co-market with, meet our community.

OpenSky Shopkeepers are making money and Suppliers are finding new markets. They are establishing a new channel and building the foundations for their future success.

We are at the beginning of the road. There is a lot of work ahead. I am optimistic about our future.

- john caplan

The Super Bowl is about more than competition; it’s about more than three-million-dollar ads. It’s about eating. With friends.  And because we believe that there’s nothing quite like lounging around and eating with great company, we’re helping you and your friends celebrate with a Super Bowl Special contest and sale!

Our Shopkeepers know a thing or two about cooking and entertaining friends, so it was no hard task to scour OpenSky for some of the best products to help you create the ultimate Super Bowl party.

We chose a few game time necessities, whether your goal is to throw a classic Pretzels and Beer Super Bowl party or a Super Chic Super Bowl soiree. When you sign up for a Super Bowl coupon, you’ll get 25% off any of our Super Bowl party picks AND a chance to win one of our two complete Super Bowl party packages!

So which type of partier are you?

Super Beer or Super Chic?

You make the call.

Four new shopkeepers in the Fitness, Parenting and Cooking categories are officially open for business at OpenSky!

Emily of Healthy Fit Mama just became a mommy in March! However, that hasn’t stopped her from being active and continuing to make healthy choices when it comes to meals. She is striving to stay fit and healthy not only for my well-being, but also to set a good example for my daughter as she grows up.

In Emily’s first blog on her OpenSky shop opening, she was excited to share the Bosu Trainer Ball with her audience. “This product is one of the most versatile pieces of fitness equipment. You can stand on it, jump over it, do crunches on it, and even turn it upside down and do push ups with it! It makes a wonderful addition to any home gym”.

Danica of Danica’s Daily has a passion for all things food, whether it is going out to eat or making her own healthy versions at home.

In Danica’s blog announcing the opening of her OpenSky shop she revealed to her audience why she deiced to open an OpenSky shop. “My goal is to add a personal experience with each product and hopefully to feature as many as I can on my site so you know first hand why I LOVE the products I am displaying”.

Stacy of Glimpse Reviews was born, raised and still lives in southern Manitoba. Being a wife and mother is all that she has ever wanted, and she is so happy to be living her dream”.

Stacy’s first OpenSky blog post announcing the opening of her shop gave insight into why she thinks OpenSky is perfect for her and her readers. “The really cool thing is that it is interactive. So if you are interested in a product, you can get some great feedback on what it’s like, before you make your purchase”.

Two years ago April of The Weigh I am joined dreambodies.net, and it was the best decision that she ever made. She has competed in figure competitions and she is now content with herself, and is anxious to see where her life will go. However, that does not mean that she isn’t pushing 110%, because she always striving to mold her physique every single day.

In April’s first blog post about her OpenSky shop, she explained to her readers what the OpenSky brand was all about. “The Open Sky Project is a place designed to make online shopping a more friendly place with interaction between shopkeepers and consumers and manufacturers. I was thrilled to be contacted and have the opportunity to be working with them”.

For the holidays this year, John and Alan gave everyone a copy of Jim Collins’ Built to Last.  The book looks at why some companies become visionary industry leaders and others remain simply successful.  Think Walmart vs. Ames or Disney vs. Columbia.

Collins gave a lot of examples and case studies but the one that resonated the most with me was the willingness of visionary companies to take huge risks, accept failures along the way, continue to innovate and as a result, thrive.

My favorite example is Boeing.

THE SETTING: In 1952, Boeing was primarily a builder of military planes and had failed repeatedly to break into the commercial market.  Rival Douglas Aircraft believed propeller-driven planes would dominate the future of commercial air travel.

THE RISK: Boeing ignores its past failures and industry conventions and commits to building a commercial jet powered plane – the 707 and then the 727 and 737 and then the 747.

THE RESULT:  Well…have you ever heard of Douglas Aircraft?

The best part is that Boeing never stopped taking risks and accepting failure.  Building the 747 jumbo jet required the resources of the entire company.  If the 747 failed, the company would fail.  And in fact the jet didn’t sell as well or as quickly as Boeing predicted and Boeing laid off 60% of its workforce before  sales of the 747 picked up.

OpenSky is working to revolutionize shopping – to make connections between Shopkeepers, Suppliers and Shoppers that do not exist today on a new complex technological platform.  Since we are growing and moving so fast in many new directions, we encounter and face challenges daily.  And I know we always will.

Our latest Shopkeepers to join the OpenSky Community are Alyson from Nourished Fitness, Jenn from Eating Bender, and Lori from Finding Radiance.

Here’s what Alyson is blogging about today:

“Right now I just have a handful of products, but they are all things I regularly rave about, don’t know what I’d do without, and are must haves for any fitness-minded, healthy living enthusiast. There are a couple fitness products, a bunch of my favorite kitchen tools, and a couple food items too. I wrote brief summaries on why I use/love each of the products, and every so often I’ll post specific recipes, cooking technique or helpful hints related to them. Though I must admit, everything that’s on the shop I already talk about all the time.. that’s what’s great about this site, it’s all about spreading the word on items I already go on & on & on about anyway, and now there’s an easy place to buy them. Love it!”

Alyson is a figure competitor and began her blog back in Fall 2009 to document her first competition. Her blog has become a place to document  “daily experience with, and philosophies on, fitness and nutrition as she pursues a fit and delicious life!”

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Check out what Jenn is posting…. An OpenSky Dinner Special!

“Yes, friends. Like several of my fellow bloggers (even more, I’m sure, than who I have linked here), I have decided to open shop on OpenSky! My store is still technically under construction, but I now have three of my favorite products added and you can check them out at my store front.

Click here!

I’m so glad that everything is finally ready for launch. The great thing about this site is that it allows me to share my favorite products with you and allows you to engage in a discussion around them! I can’t wait to continue adding new items that have inspired my blogging in some way these past (almost!) two years.”

Featured in this post are veteran Shopkeepers, Zesty Cook, Carrots ‘N Cake, Kath Eats, and Megan’s Munchies.

Jenn lives in Chicago and writes about finding time for great food even when things seem a little hectic!

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Lori asked her readers to “Follow her to OpenSky” this week… check it out:

“The Open Sky Project is basically a place designed to make online shopping a more friendly place with interaction between shopkeepers and consumers and manufacturers.

What I hope to focus on with my shop is being environmentally conscious, health and fitness conscious, and incorporate my love of the outdoors (and food – you know there is a wafflemaker up there!).  This will be an evolving project for me, so if you want to bookmark the site, please feel free!  Open Sky is working with us to find really neat things to add all the time!

Open Sky is also going to donate their proceeds during January to benefit the Haiti earthquake victims, so this is the perfect time to be introduced to OpenSky if you have not seen it before.”

Lori has lost 105 pounds in the last couple years and documents her success and sells products that can help you too!

I had a very successful and interesting time last week attending the LA Gift and Home show.  This was the first time that I was able to meet vendors face-to-face as a representative of OpenSky and I can’t express how much easier it was to relay the company mission and goal in person rather over the phone or through e-mail!

Vendors were much more excited about the idea and concept once they saw how enthusiastic I was.  The hand-outs which Mike provided to the buyers and ShopKeepers attending were essential and were much better than just passing out the traditional card.  (I definitely recommend bringing these to a show with your card attached)

My first stop was on Tuesday to the LA Mart.  (I went on the first day before the weekend because I knew that the showrooms would not be as busy with their normal accounts and might have more time to speak with me.) The LA Mart is a large building in downtown Los Angeles filled with furniture, gift, accessory, home decor, textile, and seasonal showrooms.  Now since showrooms make a money from orders being placed, these showrooms were generally not to keen on listening to my OpenSky pitch since we were not interested in placing orders, just opening accounts.  But some showrooms were happy to show me lines which did drop ship and I did write down names of several accounts to contact on my own without the help of the showroom. (the notepad feature on your iphone is perfect for this task as from afar it looks like you are just typing a text or email).

Then it was time to hit the Gift Show at the LA Convention center on Friday.  Honestly I was quite disappointed with the show.  The show was almost 1/2 the size of two years ago and childrens section was almost non-existent.  I felt as if most of the concentration was for product to fill vacation touristy stores. But I powered through to try and find some gems in the rough for departments other than my specialties.  Luckily I found some great vendors to sign up.  One of the highlights was meeting up with Mary Kinkaid, a ShopKeeper and founder of Zuburbia.com. I had a wonderful time visiting with her and talking about OpenSky.  It was helpful to have someone else there from OpenSky to double-team vendors and answer questions.

After a long Friday at the Convention Center I did not return to the show until Monday when I went back to the LA Mart to check out the temporary exhibits (only exhibiting Friday-Monday).  I was very successful there and was happy to sign on quite a few new vendors.

My best advice is to not give up, smile, stay positive (even if people are rude) and pass out your OpenSky information.

Here is the list of some of the lines that I am hoping to bring to OpenSky in the next few weeks:

Baby/Children: little nest, Moonlight Slumber, Go Go Gear, Empress Arts, Urban Infant, Ribbit-Ribbit, Moncalin

Home/Decor: Mantague & Capulet, LG Designs, Collectibles, Napa Home & Garden, Corsican, EnviCorp, Whitelines

Jewelry: Branch, Cake

Lifestyle: Picnic Time, Table in a Bag

…stay tuned!