*sighs* It had to happen sometime. It could have happened anytime.

But it didn't just happen any old day -- it happened today, when we were working to get our new High-Concept Brand Bible launched.

So what was it that ruined my otherwise gleeful afternoon as I (mistakenly) reveled in the pleasure of finally having this guide on the market and relaxed, really relaxed for the first time in months?

Naturally it wasn't just 1 thing. Two nasties managed to plague the launch right from the start:

1) I sent an e-mail out to more than 5,000 people, and right at the top, where my database is supposed to automatically include the person's name, I included the little code in the wrong place in the file, so everyone got greeted as <$name$>. Don't you love being called <$names$>?

2) A tiny little image saved in a seemingly innocuous folder on our Web server wreaked havoc on the order page for the book. 5,000 click over to a page and then get asked for a password. Nice, huh?

Anyway, I've already sent my subscribers a big apology, and I do hope that that's all the damage control necessary in this situation because neither mistake was intentional.

But you know what? Even though I was pretty frustrated when I found out about these problems for a little bit because I was worried about upsetting my subscribers, this is a great day. Finally I'm able to help people the way I have wanted to for years (I dreamed of helping as many small business owners as possible for, oh, most of my big-business marketing career, and there aren't enough hours in the day to help half of the folks I'd love to be able to). And besides, I don't mind getting bad news about my own mistakes when the messengers are subscribers who are kind enough to take the time to share their concerns with me.

So in case you are one of the subscribers who suffered today at my hands :) once again, my apologies.