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Operations – including finance, raising money, HR, etc. IT – core product development Sales – esp. for B2B companies
June 6, 2011
Good article about how to think about failure and the need to continue to reinvent yourself by Rhonda Abrams, president of The Planning Shop and publisher of books for entrepreneurs. Read the entire article here: http://www.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/columnist/abrams/2011-06-02-graduates-are-tomorrows-entrepreneurs_n.htm On failure: In school, the grade you get at the end of every semester or quarter stays on your […]
February 26, 2011
This article specifically addresses the soloprenuer, but the advice is equally applicable to any entrepreneurial organization. http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/tips/archives/2011/02/what_to_outsource_as_a_solopreneur.html Without in-house employees to manage, no one calls in sick or needs a cubicle. When your outsourced agency or freelancer isn’t getting the job done, you can hire a new one. Paying hourly or on a monthly retainer lets […]
January 17, 2011
What does a leader do? He set direction, he paints a picture, he motivates others, he gets them to see themselves as part of & within a vision, he attracts them to help out, he is always energetic, always contagious, always moving forward. He plans, he thinks ahead, he strategizes, he maneuvers, he conceives, he […]
January 12, 2011
Paras Chopra offers a strategy for developing software applications that could just as well apply to any other kind of new business: Don’t start with an idea; start with a market… If making money is the objective, I suggest going with the market-first approach (as opposed to idea-first approach). If you’re confident that you’ll be […]
October 28, 2010
Do you know how to fail well? The attached link provides 5 thought starters that may surprise you: http://www.bnet.com/blog/smb/there-are-387-million-ways-to-fail-do-you-know-how-to-fail-well/2608?tag=drawer-container;load-section-river #4 really caught my eye: 4. You believe your mistaken hypotheses are crises. … along with the following: – Blank defines startups like so: “A temporary organization used to search for a scalable and repeatable business […]
September 3, 2010
10 mistakes entrepreneurs make… we’re making some of them now! http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703467004575463460389523660.html?mod=dist_smartbrief #2, 3, & 7 gave me serious pause for thought: 2. Asking too many people for advice 3. Spending too much time on product development, not enough on sales. 7. Raising too little capital.
September 3, 2010
Good news for start-ups – 70% likely to succeed! http://www.bnet.com/blog/business-myths/why-the-small-business-failure-rate-is-90-percent-smoke-and-mirrors/117 “Well-supported studies indicate that 70% of new firms with at least one employee survive for at least two years, and about half go on for five years. And while there are undeniable risks, those armed with more accurate figures will likely have a competitive advantage […]
September 1, 2010
More good tips for the pitch http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100830/COLUMNIST0305/8300308/1003/business Some things I like: An effective pitch starts with a hook — something that grabs the attention of the person one is talking to about a business. The most effective hook lays the groundwork to show the underlying need in the market for what the new business aims […]
August 27, 2010
Wow is pricing a difficult subject! It’s a science, right? Test some various price points, map out an elasticity curve, pick the maximum point and you’re good. The reality is it’s much more complicated. Seth Levine has a great write-up in the follow-in article: http://www.sethlevine.com/wp/2010/08/pricing-models-the-freemium-myth-and-why-you-may-not-be-charging-enough-for-your-product Interestingly however, in the email from Kate Mitchell that linked […]
June 24, 2011
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