I’ll be taking the next four days or so off from blogging. Long story short, this week is full of both joy and sadness. As many people know, my wife Amy is about to give birth to our second child. Depending on how things progress, we may be announcing a new addition to our family as soon as this Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday.

In the meantime though, sadness has also befallen our family. My Grandpa on my Mother’s side passed away last night, and we now find ourselves preparing for his funeral, which will be held this Thursday.

With all that’s going on right now, Nightingale’s quote really hits home. During times like these, I realize just how lucky I am to be working at Doba (okay, so I do a little more than just ‘work’ at Doba, but if you’re a regular reader of this blog or if you work for me, you know exactly what I mean). The people I work with…they give me strength for getting over the rough spots, and they also make me encouraged about the world my new one will be growing up in.

Thanks, everyone! See ya next Monday.

One of the really cool things about blogging is that it affords you the opportunity to meet people you may not have otherwise met had you not had a blog of your own. Case in point: Guy Kawasaki, managing director of Garage Technology Ventures and one of my favorite authors and bloggers (starting to see the connection?).

As I mentioned in this past Wednesday’s post, Guy took time out of his eBay Live! 2006 schedule to stop by the Doba booth for a meet and greet. The meeting, which was informal at best, was arranged entirely as a result of me reading and leaving a comment on his blog. Had I tried to connect with him through a more traditional channel–say via his publicist, publisher, or even by calling his company directly–chances are, the meeting never would have happened (and not because I suspect Guy’s the type of person who’d be all snooty or anything, but rather, like many successful and in-demand people, he’s so darned busy that his own people would probably view my request just like all the other’s he receives, and it’d get lost or prioritized differently).

The power of the blogosphere is pretty amazing. One day you’re just a guy who runs a company and has lots of ideas about this, that, or the other. The next day, you launch a blog, and by sharing your ideas–and demonstrating the quality of your thoughts–people like Guy are willing to read you and even meet with you in person. It’s similar to how eBay works. Before you post anything on the site, you’re just an average Joe, but on the day you sell your first item, a whole new world of possibilities opens to you.

It’s day two of eBay Live! 2006, and the show has been nothing short of amazing. Highlights include:

• Doba signed up as many new members on the first day of the show as we had expected to sign up over the entire three-day event.
• Ten percent of the show’s attendees–around 1,500 people–attended my Monday panel discussion on Product Sourcing.
• I met one of my favorite bloggers and author, Guy Kawaski, who stopped by the Doba booth for a meet and greet.

Suffice to say, eBay Live! and Doba are firing on all cylinders. To top it all off, hundreds of our current customers have stopped by our booth to share their excitement about the show and Doba, and we still have one more day of the show to go!

After months of planning and working alongside a dedicated core of co-workers who pulled college-style all-nighters just to get us here, Team Doba and I are in Las Vegas through Thursday for eBay Live! 2006. A lot goes into a show like eBay Live!, and as I’ve stated before, I’m completely sold on the notion that a successful conference or trade show happens as a result of the work you choose to do beforehand.

With that in mind, I’d like to thank everyone back at Doba World Headquarters who worked so hard to get the 22 or so of us here. In particular, I’d like to recognize the work of:

• Doba’s Creative Director/Brand Maverick, Wade Preston Shearer: From designing and coordinating the production of all of the new elements for our exhibit booth, to handling the design of our press kit, collateral materials, show shirts and partner jackets, Wade went beyond the call of duty to get the job done right.
• Doba’s entire Engineering Team: Basically, without giving away any proprietary information or trade secrets, our engineers rebuilt, tested, and launched a full one-third of our platform, including our new Push to Marketplace tool that will be on display for the first time at eBay Live!. To say that our engineers worked tirelessly would be such an understatement. One engineer who I know of in particular, came into work last Monday morning at 9:00 a.m. and didn’t leave the office until roughly midnight Tuesday.

There are of course a lot of other people and departments to thank, and while I literally could go on for pages doing just that, if you work at Doba, you have to already know just how much all of us who are here in Vegas appreciate your hard work and dedication. If you don’t, well, just wait until we get back to the office, because what happens in Vegas won’t be staying in Vegas. As soon as we return, we’ll make sure everyone receives a full update from the show along with lots of opportunities to keep the enthusiasm going.

If there’s one thing I’m known for when it comes to conferences and trade shows, it’s hitting the ground running as soon as I return to my office. All to often, company owners, managers, and staff treat the days immediately following a big show or meeting like eBay Live! as an excuse for a vacation. The thought process goes something like this: “Well, we worked so hard preparing for and working the show, we deserve some time off as a reward.” While I can see how some people might choose to think that way, taking time off immediately following a conference or trade show really messes with a show’s value proposition, which is realized not just by the work you do before and at a show but by the follow-up you do immediately thereafter.

My motto for eBay Live! 2006 is that ‘what happens in Vegas won’t be staying in Vegas.’ Our team will hit the ground running this Friday as soon as we return from the show, and as a result, our reward–which will be way better than a three-day weekend–will benefit every Doba employee and customer.

Again, I just want to say thank you to everyone who made this week possible. If time permits, I may be blogging some from the show. If not, I’ll be back on Friday with a recap and other show-related thoughts.

Earlier this week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution (H.R. 699) that calls attention to the important role we entrepreneurs play in the economy, and more importantly, encourages schools at all levels throughout the USA to engage in entrepreneurship education.

According to Congressman David Price’s office (D- NC 4th District), more than 70 percent of U.S. high school students would like to open their own business someday, while more than 10 percent of adults are actively planning to become entrepreneurs within their local communities. Price says that given the driving force that entrepreneurs provide to our economy and the strong interest exhibited among students, it is important that schools harness this potential for future success by incorporating entrepreneurship training into their curriculum.

Frankly, I couldn’t agree more.

House Resolution 699 also calls upon the federal government, state and local governments, schools, not-for-profit organizations, and others to observe a National Entrepreneurship Week on an annual basis with special events in support of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship education programs. (According to the Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education, the first Entrepreneurship Week USA is tentatively planned for the last week of February, 2007.)

To read the H.R. 699 in its entirety, click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below. In the meantime, I say hats off to Congressman Price and the Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education–the driving force behind the measure.

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