Clicky

What did you miss out on this time around?Posted by Wayne on 24th June 2009

StorMan's "Phonesmart Un-conference" Hawaiian Experience

First up, I aim to make this blog as factual as possible - but from memory only. I have not referred to any materials from the Un-conference. Why? Because Hawaii was a very special event, and I want my words to come (strictly) from the heart. If I get something out of context or chronological order, simply re-adjust my story in your own mind and read on. So, here is how I recall the entire adventure.

 

Hawaii   Hawaii

 

It all began October 2008, when I met Liz at the CSSA event in San Diego. I have always loved the idea of synergy and team work creating more opportunity for all, and I saw Phonesmart’s synergistic approach and Un-conference as a chance for StorMan to make a bigger impact in the USA. Luckily, and very scarily for me, Aaron, StorMan’s COO, agreed. It was frightening to hear Aaron commit on my whim, which was purely based on the goodwill aura surrounding Liz in San Diego, and the fact that if Phonesmart could get some of their good people along, people whom I had never been able to speak to by leaving endless messages on their phone and by sending endless emails to their company, then the “Un-conference” concept just might be different enough to your usual event/conference to provide something special in the way of relationship building with key players in the storage industry.

 

Phonesmart Un-Conference

 

No kidding, I have (personally) spent months in our California office with spreadsheet and telephone, leaving messages for many of the people whom I was destined to shake hands with at the Un-conference, but had not been able to reach thus far. The response from those whom I was able to reach was often something like, “Yeah, well, what we have is definitely not perfect. But it works just well enough. And it fits just within the budget. We would not look at changing because… well… it is not that it isn’t broken. It is! When you buy management software you have to purchase the one that frustrates you the least! We have taped/glued/pasted/bolted/stuck it together so well, it is holding together, and we don’t have to spend any more money…” You get the idea? We knew we had something to offer that is way better than all of that. The problem was getting the ear of someone who should care more. The hope was that Hawaii would help us get past all of that nonsense. Could Hawaii, and the economic situation, get people opening up and looking for solutions, instead of just being happy to ‘not quite desperately and frantically’ (yet) tread water in a potential sink-hole?

Before we knew what the Un-conference would deliver, we (Aaron and I) put both our necks on the chopping block, over which hovers the gleeful axe-wielding silhouette of our company’s stockholders. We boldly committed to Liz that, if she could promise to try and make this work for us, then we would be there for her.

 

Phonesmart Un-Conference

 

Aaron and I flew out of Auckland Saturday morning our time, Friday morning Hawaiian time, before the Un-conference. We arrived in Honolulu Friday night, the day before we had left Auckland airport. The International dateline is a wonderful thing.

The flight is just under 9 hours – quicker than the length of time many Americans attending the Un-conference would spend in the air. However probably not as convenient because I am doubtful the volume of flights from Auckland to Hawaii is as regular as those from the mainland. We would not leave the island of O’ahu for the Un-conference on Hawaii until Tuesday, so we had to kill three days in Waikiki.

Arrival onto US soil for a non-citizen is always unnerving. The job of border protection is, as it should be, taken very seriously by border authorities. As a traveller one feels every move one makes is being watched closely, and one hopes fervently that nothing they say or do is taken offensively, or seen in any way as being negative, by border authorities. Sometimes I feel, in an effort to look decidedly honest, we kiwis probably end up looking somewhat dodgy. So my favourite strategy (which also happens to be a very honest strategy) is to look extremely tired whenever I fly into LA. This is very easy to do when you have flown all night. But in this case we weren’t tired because the Air New Zealand flight to Honolulu from Auckland is a very humane daytime flight, on a craft with nicely re-furbished seats, which are actually quite comfortable and offer surprising leg room – even in ‘cattle-class’. So I think I was trying to appear “earnest” and “helpful” when I approached the counter at US Customs in Honolulu. This (obviously) aroused the Customs Officer’s suspicions.

 

Phonesmart Un-Conference

 

At the counter I had to provide the border protection officer interviewing me an almost complete breakdown of why I was coming to Hawaii. When I mentioned self-storage he was not sure what I was referring to. I felt compelled to give a full description of the industry, and how we/I fit into it. Aware of those waiting in cues behind me, I tried to give this presentation as quickly as I could. As I stumbled along I hoped like mad I did not seem strange to the man behind the counter, with the big gun on his hip (we don’t have those in New Zealand). I even had to explain the Conference, which is an Un-conference, and why an industry vendor company like Phonesmart might be holding it, and where.

Officials poured over my documentation, and those big guns on their hips are something I find quite un-nerving. But as arrivals into a US airport go, this was still the nicest one for me so far. These guys and gals sure were serious, but not quite as scary to me as the ones in LA. Don’t misunderstand. I have done nothing wrong, and I have nothing to fear. But when you are not used to people wearing guns, when this person in front of you has the power to turn you back homeward just because he does not like your smile, when you have come a long way to work hard on a dream, even an innocent person can feel… unnerved throughout this process.

 

Phonesmart Un-Conference

 

As soon as we stepped out of the airport it felt so good to be on American soil once again. The drive to the Hotel from the airport was facilitated by those wonderful, wide freeways. When you hit an American freeway after escaping Auckland’s “motorway” you feel like a bird just released from its cage.

Then you see all the marketing about the place and it started to feel to me like I had come home to our office in Riverside, California. Both Aaron and I let out a long, blissful sigh. For both of us the USA is just like our second home. In fact, my 12 month old son, “Kael”, has almost spent as much of his life on US soil as he has in New Zealand!

With time up our sleeve before the Un-conference, Aaron and I spent it in preparation. We surfed websites belonging to attendees, we reviewed our presentation, we argued about the best approach to take. We both got stitched up by a guy raising money for the local Soup Kitchen. As a study on sales and technique this was an extraordinary experience. Aaron and I debated whether the pitch was scripted or “a-la-naturale”. We finally discovered that the magic belonged to the guy who was simply out to have a good time making friends, and money for the soup kitchen. This confirmed what we had always felt our Un-conference approach should and would be, and we settled on the idea of experiencing the Un-conference as a chance to make new friends. Then we would share (with new friends) valuable insights. From there we hoped the business angle would look after itself.

 

Phonesmart Un-Conference

 

The day of arrival at the Un-conference finally arrived. Even better than the arrival into Honolulu International Airport, the arrival at the airport on The Big Island is my best arrival into a US airport, ever! First, you step off the plane onto the tarmac. Then you hear the beautiful Hawaiian music playing and you walk towards it. You come around a bend and there are the musicians on stage, with two beautiful hula dancers performing up front. No border patrol, no guns, no stress. No wonder they call this place “Paradise!”

We stepped into a shuttle taxi and drove along a road surrounded by and built upon solid lava rock. It was still shaped as it had settled when it started cooling from its previously molten state. We were witnessing, first hand, the story of a volcanic island inventing itself. Every now and then we could see the coast in the distance and areas of coastline that were, instead of being black lava rock, green with imported grass, foliage, and tall palm trees. In some places you could see big, beautiful houses behind the plantings. Our shuttle driver pointed in the general vicinity of the one belonging to Mr Dell, and he told us how the entire island would know when Mr Dell was ever in town because his wife would be seen jogging along this very road, with Mr Dell following slowly behind in his motor vehicle. After a stop at a resort to let out all but Aaron, myself, and the shuttle driver, we drove a little farther before arriving at the Mauna Lani Resort.

 

Phonesmart Un-Conference

 

This place has everything! Golf course, fitness area (complete with pool, gym, and tennis courts). They produce a large percentage of their own electricity. They are a terrific example of conservation know-how, and a perfect place for storage operators to learn how embracing Green thinking can be of benefit to both their business and the environment. They have a cultural advisor, a native Hawaiian, who gave us a very moving presentation. He reminded me of the Maori people back home in New Zealand, whom I now have more of a heart for than I did before my Hawaiian experience. Funny how leaving home can make you notice the things you usually take for granted. To me the Hawaiian language sounds like a mixture of Tahitian, Samoan, and Maori. I know Americans hold the Hawaiian culture close to their hearts. New Zealand has the Maori people who, in many ways, are quite similar to native Hawaiians. I can assure you, with great confidence, that (in this way at least) kiwis and Americans are not so different.

At Mauna Lani we were welcomed as our shuttle pulled up to the front entrance, and a lovely lady, (“Pam” was the name on her tag), escorted us from the entrance to a desk at reception where we were sat down, offered a refreshing towel, and a glass of juice. Pam explained everything to us about the resort, and gave us each a key. The welcome was so nice that at first I figured she thought we were someone else. But there was no mistake, this is how they treat a new guest at Mauna Lani. Whilst we were sitting with Pam someone was taking our luggage to our room. Soon we were on our way there ourselves.

As we walked past the man-made streams, rivers, and ponds, we saw a ton of aquatic life. Before we were through at the Mauna Lani we would see turtles, sharks, octopi, sting ray, and plenty of tropical fish swimming about the place. En route to our room we decided to go snorkelling at the nearby beach. This would be an experience I would warmly encourage others to take when, later in the evening, I stood for the first time in front of those whom we had travelled so far to meet, explore their story, and share the story of StorMan with.

 

Phonesmart Un-Conference

 

The first official part of the Un-conference was drinks on the beachfront lawn. It was a chance to mix and mingle, and to put a face to the names we did not already have faces for from our research to date, and to put a voice to the faces and the names we recognised.

One of the first people we recognised was Bob from The Heron Group. We knew Bob from the Self Storage Association of Australasia event in Perth 2008. Then we met James and Mark from A-American, then Mike, Charles, and Barry from Westport Properties. It was not long before we also met Kathy and Ron Barth, who would later become “Wisconsin” and “Sinbad” to me. “Wisconsin” for Kathy because she was wonderfully proud of Wisconsin, where she lives and works. And “Sinbad” for Ron because he is a real life salt-water adventurer. Also I called him this because the pirate kept calling me “Aussie”, in the full knowledge that I, (like StorMan itself) am kiwi, not Australian. Still, “Sinbad” made the “Aussie” thing stick, and by the end of the Un-conference it became a joke between friends.

In fact that word, “friend”, became an apt description for people we met at the Un-conference. At every other event or trade show, a vendor tries to meet “customers”. The jury is out as to whether or not StorMan has many new customers from Hawaii, but both Aaron and I feel we made some fantastic friends.

 

Phonesmart Un-Conference

 

I was also delighted to finally have the chance to introduce Aaron to Erin from the CSSA, and for Erin to introduce me to Brandon, her husband. Before the Un-conference ended we became friends with all. Don, Donald, Nadine, Cathy, George, another Mike, Dianne, Karen, Robert, Donald, Ted (who looked like Steven Spielberg when he wore a cap), Karen, Bob, Kamyar (a German born Iranian residing in the USA), and Mitch. It should be noted that yet another Mike, by all appearances a very ambitious and clever one, would arrive in a day or so. Although (other than Brandon) I have not mentioned spouses it should be pointed out that we also loved meeting and sharing with spouses and guests of attendees too. The whole Un-conference, from the magnificent welcome, through to the execution of events by Phonesmart, and the enthusiastic participation by all attendees (vendors or otherwise), seemed to be a wonderful success. Why?

Maybe it was the place. Maybe it was the atmosphere. Maybe it was the comfort. Maybe it was the nature. Maybe it was being invited into the Hoeven Hawaii home/beach house for cocktails. Maybe it was learning that Barry is a fan of New Zealand. Maybe it was learning that George is also a fan of New Zealand. Maybe it was having our chance to tell Americans how different New Zealand is. Maybe it was having our chance to tell Americans how much we love the way they do things. Maybe it was learning how different kiwis and Americans are. Maybe it was learning how kiwis and Americans are exactly the same.

For some reason, Phonesmart were able to put together something really special in Hawaii. Value was offered. Friendship was extended. Maybe business will come of it. Maybe it won’t. But we are all better off for having been there. If you are reading this and you weren’t there then you don’t want to miss the next one folks!

 

Phonesmart Un-Conference

 

Let me give you a couple more examples of how good this thing was. First, you had the Round Tables. All sorts of good stuff got shared. Wisconsin did a session on Succession Planning. James did one on Staff Retention. Tron came up with an idea where we could all help each other through the current financial crisis by working to develop our businesses together. Tron also, (and this made a huge impression on Aaron), introduced us to the phrase “Interrupting the customer’s expectations”.

I have used this very strategy myself since the Un-conference, with amazing success. (Thank you Tron!) Mike inspired everyone with the story of his company. Erin schooled us up on Association participation, and maybe we saw the beginning of a Hawaiian Association – who knows?!? We learned what we can do to help industry move ahead in these troubled times.

 

These are the matters raised at the StorMan Round Table:

  • Where are customers coming from and how do we know?
  • How can we use software to better see where we should be spending more of our advertising budget? -internet -Yellow Pages -Referrals -investment in Community – relationships
  • How can we get better forecasting tools which show the net result of offering discounts on different products, occupancy and financial trends, revenue management?
  • How can we get standardised line items on common reports - not having to re-write different reports from different systems into one?
  • How do we get audit friendly systems so trends can be easily seen?
  • Mike Burnham suggested someone develop real time occupancy and rate update reports to the SSA
  • We learned industry needs more sophisticated reports that are easy to use
  • Hawaiian storage businesses are troubled when trying to account for Tax
  • Who does industry work with and how does it get the best return from integration partners?
  • How do we unravel the world of self storage marketing? Can we go back and review trends, historical reporting, year to date, how good was a particular special (military/pharmaceutical) at a given time? Is there a way to customise reports for this purpose?
  • How can we track a birthday in our management software (this feature must be able to switch on or off) to build relationships one by one?
  • How do we best present data - electronically and on paper
  • Can we collect information on seasonal customers so they can be contacted just before they are due to come back (or go somewhere else) for storage - car storers, college kids (freshman, sophmores, juniors)? How can we get older students to refer younger students just beginning at College?
  • Can we export data to accounting packages?
  • Can we get a weekly snapshot of our business?
  • We discussed Vacancy/occupancy reporting
  • How do we make all these new things easy to use and learn for Managers?
  • How can we get plenty of support when needed?
  • How can we better document and follow the Auction process?
  • How can we treat each site as a separate business, but still view all sites as one big business too?
  • Can we get new and better rate setting tools for the market?

 

Phonesmart Un-Conference

 

Thanks to the wonderful job Phonesmart did of setting up the Un-conference, the venue, the setting, the atmosphere, and the execution of events, some very open and honest communication occurred. As a direct result of all this, the StorMan presentation on the Thursday was able to provide an answer to all of these questions.

And then someone (perhaps Kamyar?) had a wonderful idea to help us develop the market for StorMan:
Cross market StorMan on other user’s websites

Many people had hired cars and so they were not ‘stuck’ at the resort for the whole time. Now I don’t want to sound precious, but Aaron and I were hard at work for most of the trip. When we weren’t attending a Round Table, a meeting, or a presentation, we were hard at work in our room catching up with phone calls, emails, problems, and solutions, for business all over the world – our usual daily workload. By the time we had finished our presentation we were completely washed out. I maintain this is the reason, after networking late into the night with a number of important Un-conference attendees, I spent much of Thursday night sleeping on the neighbour’s deck. Aaron had excused himself several hours before so he could ring his family,’ and did not return. He was sound asleep in our room.

 

Phonesmart Un-Conference

 

Me being locked outside was the result of an unfortunate series of events. I thought I was on our deck. I had lost my key. Aaron had failed to open the door when I tapped on the ranch slider. He thought the rhythmic tapping was the neighbours being romantic in the room next door. There were no neighbours next door. The room next door was vacant. This is a good thing because I was on their deck. I had forgotten the two cell phones in my pocket which I should have used to call Aaron to let me in. Around 4 or 5am, after having slumbered most uncomfortably on a deck chair (which I learned later would recline fully), I had the presence of mind to see if I could get a replacement room key from reception.

I walked past a row of comfortable hammocks I could have slept quite well on, outside, through the lovely warm Hawaiian night. Lucky for us/me, all that remained of the Un-conference was a breakfast, a morning session with some exciting presentations and idea swapping, and then some time on a boat charter, and snorkelling. And then another pleasant surprise occurred.

 

Phonesmart Un-Conference

 

The guys from A-American had a car. As I said, Aaron and I were starting to feel like we were “stuck” at the resort because we did not have a car of our own. I know, I know! The crocodile tears are flowing like a great ocean storm. But maybe partly because we were sharing a room, maybe partly because we were working so hard to keep up with day to day business as well as the Un-conference itself, maybe partly because without a vehicle we could not get far from the resort, and maybe partly because I knew Kate (my beloved) was flying into O’ahu and I could not get to her until the following day when our flight would take us back to O’ahu from The Big Island, after a few days Aaron and I were beginning to suffer cabin fever on the resort. When the guys from A-American suggested we go into Kona for dinner on Friday night we were all in!!! James and Mark? Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!

Oh, and sorry for being so pre-occupied with texts from Kate as she arrived in Honolulu while we were having dinner. I really was quite worried about her getting herself, baby Kael, and all that gear (pushchair, cot, car seat, clothes, blankets, and luggage) off the plane and to the Hotel. As it turns out there was a cohort of kiwis from Air NZ, and then another cohort of Americans from the airport to the Hotel, who were kind enough to help her out.

 

Phonesmart Un-Conference

 

The Un-conference finale happened at breakfast on the Saturday. From the outside, perhaps it did not seem a finale. Perhaps it more likely appeared to be a group of people having breakfast. But at the table, we were sharing technology tips such as “How to get your phone bill down to a fraction of what it is now using VOIP”. I am sure people were still making resolutions to improve their business even at this point. StorMan does not sell VOIP systems folks – we just wanted to help our friends and their businesses. And rumours of my nocturnal activities from Thursday night were still coming back to me.

Folks, our room was on the ground floor. Admittedly, it did require some athleticism on my part to climb up onto the neighbour’s deck. Even as ground floor decks go it is a wee scramble. But at the finale breakfast the story goes I scaled four floors to get onto the neighbour’s deck. Listen folks, if it makes your trip more memorable, then the 4th floor story is all true!

Afterwards came the farewells that go hand in hand with enthusiastic invitations for a “cook up” next time “x” is in “y’s” town. Oh, and one final thing. James, who has surfed, dived, and snorkelled all over the world, made some strong recommendations. One was that, if the opportunity availed itself, that one must try snorkelling in Hanauma Bay. After Aaron had boarded a big silver bird destined for “Godzone” Kate and I did just that very thing.

 

Phonesmart Un-Conference

 

You might be wondering how we both went snorkelling with a little baby. Easy! Kate went first, and I played with Kael in the waves. Then I went snorkelling, and Kate played with Kael in the sand. We saw beautiful fish, some quite large, as well as two massive green turtles who were feeding on something in and around the coral. Can I just say something else I love about Americans at this point?

Before we were allowed to snorkel at the reserve we went into a big theatre and watched a movie that told us how the reserve had been created, the wide variety of creatures that lived there, and what we could do to preserve this treasure for others to follow. Basically we were told not to feed the creatures and not to step on the fragile coral for fear of damaging something before being scorned by the full might of Hawaiian law. Simple. I love that about Americans. They say, “Do the right things. These are the right things to do. Now do them, or we will shoot you!” Well, it is not really that drastic or dramatic, but certainly there is no question as to expectations, and what will follow if these are not met. Far better than the wet, soggy, swamp some kiwis feel our justice system has become, where our old people cannot afford to heat their homes in winter but our criminals are housed in palaces with under floor heating and landscaped gardens. The American way is one based on respect. And it protects the reserve for all – I’m lovin’ it!

 

Phonesmart Un-Conference

 

Quite sincerely James, Kate and I owe you a debt of gratitude. The snorkelling experience could not have been better.

And James, I owe you another, separate debt of gratitude. With less than two weeks to go before my 40th birthday, I tried surfing for the first time in Waikiki. I got up and stood on that board – no worries! Admittedly the surf was learner friendly. Fact is, I love it! I would love it more if there was a cure for the painful affliction I call “surfer’s nipples”. Still, now I am exploring the New Zealand coastline for the best surf spots on offer. This weekend (just gone) I went to one of the most reliable places for waves here, a place called “Raglan”. A fantastic town! I am hooked! Google it James, and I will take you there if you come down-unda!

Also, this weekend, I presented StorMan to Donald’s accountant, “Steve”. I think he liked it! Numerous other Un-conference attendees have downloaded the StorMan demo from the web and have asked me questions.

 

Phonesmart Un-Conference

 

Thank you Mike, thank you Tron, thank you Liz, and thank you to the Phonesmart team for a job so well done. I don’t know your future plans for this event, but I really believe most of the value delivered and received by all was due to the feeling we were all there to meet as industry peers and friends. I know there is a financial reality to everything, but my biggest hope is that the integrity of the event just shared is maintained, and never sacrificed for monetary gain alone. If that happens to the Un-conference then it may become difficult to distinguish it from every other event/conference. Mostly, these do not give either side (vendor or industry) much of a voice, and they seem to do everything possible to put the guard up.

As a new event, I feel the Un-conference had a freshness that helped it deliver value for all. The point of difference was that this is not just another industry event/conference between over-whelming scores of vendors and a small, niche industry. The fact is that this new and untried format attracted a quality of attendee those other events/conferences do not. This resulted in an intimate chance to really connect in a friendly way with very powerful folk who, collectively, have what it takes to move this industry forward.

 

Phonesmart Un-Conference

 

Our friend’s websites:

 

Regards,
Wayne (VP Sales and Marketing, StorMan USA)

This blog is Part 1 in a series...

With thanks to the Phonesmart crew and Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows for the photographs used in this post.

Leave a commentLeave your comments & feedback on this post...

You will notice a verification image below. Please read the image and type the words into the field provided. This helps stop spam, as spam 'robots' have trouble reading the words. If you are having issues reading the words, please use the 'refresh' icon below to load a new set of words, or the 'speaker' icon to listen to an alternate phrase instead.