Hire me - An Open Letter

Open letter to cool brands who have hired celebrities and athletes to endorsement contracts:

Hire me.

Yes I know.  That's a pretty bold statement.  You can go ahead and bing google me. You'll find nothing of consequence. 

I haven't won any athletic awards since before my mom bought me a Millennium Survival Kit.  I have yet to be featured on any celebrity magazines or websites.  Trust me.  Perez Hilton does not know who I am. 

The only red carpet I have ever been on was when my cousin got married this past summer.  And I almost tripped over that one.  I have never taken steroids or pleaded the 5th.  People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" has never heard of me.  If I ever applied to BeautifulPeople.com I would not be accepted. 

You see, I'm just a regular guy.  I have a wife and kid and live in a house in a quiet neighbourhood in the city. 

I don't consider myself average.  I'm just not a celebrity.  People don't take pictures of me.  Check Flickr if you don't believe me.

Here's what I CAN offer you:  I'm real and authentic.  That's my brand.  I represent the kind of person you want using your product. 

If you're a clothing company I can assure you I wear clothes.  And being in Toronto (and this being winter) I wear lots of them.  I need various kinds of shoes to tackle various kinds of weather.  Sunglasses?  Ditto.  Food? I love to eat.  Cars?  I got my drivers licence.  I'm a consumer.  And I'm not loyal to brands (unless I get paid).

But not only that, I'm active.  I'm all over this fair city of ours.  (By the way, I will travel for money - Hello, Flight Centre!)  You can find me at trade shows, meetups, social gatherings, at baseball and football games, and at various drinking and eating establishments.  I'm an avid blogger and tweeter and my sister says I spend too much time on Facebook.

And if you ask anybody about me here's the answer you'll get:  He's nice.  Now isn't that the type of person you would want wearing your fine cologne or expensive watch?  I think so.

And here's my guarantee to you should you decide to hire me:  I don't have far to fall.  Unlike Tiger, Phelps, McGuire, Clemons, Letterman and various other "stars" my fall (which you are concerned about) will not be damaging.  To you.  Because there won't be one.  In fact, there will be no fall into the TMZ world.

Here's why:

1. I have an implied code of conduct.  - Unlike Kobe, I live on a budget.  There is no way in hell that I would jeopardize free swag just for a little late night shenanigans.
2. Although all press is not good press, you won't have to worry about neither.  I won't generate any press.  I'll melt into the crowd at the local grocery store as I buy your tasty cereal.
3. I'm very good at saying sorry.  So if I forget to put the snow tires you send me on my car and something unforeseen happens, I'll say sorry.  And you won't have to worry about a lawsuit.
4. And if I screw up really bad (meaning the media and those damn bloggers find out I'm being paid by you) I'll just lay low for a while.  I'll stop tweeting, facebooking, and hobnobbing with Toronto's social media elite.
   
   

So what do you think?  Don't you wish your high-paid celebrity endorsers followed those same 4 steps?

You see, these are the things that the average mom and dad teach their children:

1. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
2. Don't do anything to embarass your mother.
3. Learn to say sorry.
4. And if you make a mistake, it's better to shut your mouth than to dig yourself into a bigger hole.

And it's something that I promise I will do for you.

Now if you deem it inappropriate to hire a brand like Karim Kanji, I understand.  I mean, there is a chance I'll be BIG someday. I mean REALLY BIG. 

So my advice to you would then be to hire that next person who fills your coffee cup tomorrow morning. 

They know a thing or two about being human. 

Hire them.



Regards,

Karim Kanji
karim_kanji at hotmail dot com

August Lesson - Freedom

At least once per month I will highlight a business, life or even funny lesson here. My purpose is not to teach nor preach but to share some of the crumbs I've gathered from other people's tables.


Have you ever read the book, The Alchemist? It's a great read by author Paulo Coelho. You should check it out. As a result of me reading this book many years ago coupled with my recent interest in all things Twitter, I have started to "follow" Paulo. He offers insight and inspiration to everyone.

In fact one of his quotes really got me thinking. Here it is:

@paulocoelho: 26/08: Freedom is not the absence of commitments, but the ability to choose your task in life

That's deep. Many people have given their opinions on what freedom is. Is it simply retiring from work and watching game shows? Is it stopping a job to start a business? My mom "retired" a while ago. Not by choice mind you. But she's been busier than ever taking care of our grandmother, son and doing a variety of volunteer work.

So, when I came across this quote it hit me because this makes the most sense.

Freedom is the ability to choose your task in life. So, while I'm not free yet, I know that I'm working my way towards it.


I would love to know your thoughts on this. With this quote in mind, do you consider yourself free? If so, why? If not, are you working towards your freedom?

Friday Lesson - Create

At least once per month I will highlight a business, life or even funny lesson here. My purpose is not to teach nor preach but to share some of the crumbs I've gathered from other people's tables.

At my workplace and business I've come to learn that one of the best ways to attract business is to paint as positive a picture of myself, my service/product and my company as I possibly can. What I used to do was tear down my competition as if they were some sort of alien enemy hell bent on my destruction. In fact, what I do today is heap praise on my competitors when their name or brand is brought up by my clients.

Why?

Lesson - You attract what you project. If I project positiveness and goodwill this is what I will attract. Therefore, if I'm negative (towards myself or others) THIS is what I will get in return. If I'm positive, I will reap positive returns.

This is why the following article confused me. Kill Your Competition. I believe if we all want more business we should focus on uncovering our clients or prospects needs and fill that need. Bashing the other guy doesn't bring anyone any business.

And I think we can say the same thing in regards to our relations with people. Small people talk about other people. Successful (in life) people talk about concepts and ideas.

What are your thoughts? What approach do you take in life/business? Do you spend time tearing down or building up? I'd love to read your thoughts and ideas.