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It’s Your Biz: A Good Book for Startups
Oct 15th
That’s it! You’ve finally decided to start that business. Your friends and family are supportive and think that you can really set the world on fire with your Italian restaurant, cupcakes or hunting knives. You’re all fired up and ready to go.
But wait! Before you go headfirst into your new life and new venture, take a couple of hours and read through Susan Solovic’s new book It’s Your Biz. I received a Kindle review version of the book from the publisher a little while ago. I’m not going to be able to give you detailed descriptions of the book or the chapters because the Kindle version doesn’t lend itself easily to that.
You may have seen Susan Solovic (@SusanSolovic) on television because she makes appearances on ABC News, Fox Business News and MSNBC as a small business contributor. The last time I saw her on TV, she was sharing her experiences as a woman in business and what the future for women in business held.
You’ll get much of this same common-sense advice in It’s Your Biz. Solovic doesn’t hold back on telling it like it is. There are several pieces of advice that I’ve gleaned so far that will give you a flavor for what I mean:
- Write a business plan yourself. It doesn’t matter if it’s on a paper bag, as long as it clearly communicates the who, what, where and when of your business.
- Build your business for the future. I heard Susan mention this bit of advice while we were on a radio show panel together. The next day I completely reworked my business plan to reflect this concept. Most of us build a business we can run today. We don’t plan or create the systems that will allow other people to do the things that we are doing ourselves today. It’s basically the same advice you’ll get in the books E-Myth and Built to Sell: Build a turnkey business machine – not just a job for yourself. Brilliant.
- Don’t be influenced by friends and family. At one extreme, friends and family will push you to start a business without realizing that you are the one taking the risk. They don’t want to squelch your dreams or to make you feel bad. And so you listen to their encouragement without doing the necessary research and fail. At the other extreme, friends and family may not support you at all. This is your business – make your own decision after you do the work and gather the evidence to support it.
These are just a few nuggets of advice from the first section of the book. There are many more where that came from.
Who should read this book?
If you’re just thinking about going into business for yourself, this is a great book to get into before you jump into the entrepreneurial pool.
If you know someone who is thinking about getting into business for themselves, this book makes a terrific gift. It will show your support and give you both the opportunity to go through the book together and discuss it.
Coaches and consultants who work with startups would also get some benefit from this book. I read a lot of books about startups. Sometimes they all seem to run together, but I always get something worthwhile out of each.
Overall, It’s Your Biz is a great book to read if you’re thinking about starting a business, or even if you already have a business and want to review all the basics to make sure that you’re on track. With the new year approaching, this is a great gift and business book to review and reference to grow your business.
It’s Your Biz: A Good Book for Startups
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
“It will be good exposure”
Jul 30th
Well, it might be.
Now that everyone, every brand, every organization and just about every person is in a race to build trust or an online following or a reputation, the question of working for free in exchange for exposure confronts us all.
Should you art direct a new ad for the local zoo, merely to build your cred? Should you give that speech for free, because people who pay speakers will be in the audience? Should you contribute code to the new kernel because people will see what you’ve done? Appear on a talk show, do a signing, call in to a radio show?
Perhaps.
Unsatisfying, but true.
Exposure, the right kind of exposure, is good practice, an honest contribution and yes, a chance to build credibility. Make it a habit, though, and instead of exposure, you’ve set yourself up a new standard– that you work for free.
Alas, one more decision you need to make.
Some designers (and authors) violently disagree with my case by case approach… they think the entire profession is cheapened by spec work and work for exposure–they argue that solidarity is the only response. I’ll point out that these very designers belong to organizations that ask speakers to speak for free… for exposure.
If you’re an unpublished author, you’re certainly better off doing a lot of writing online (even entire novels given away) for free before you veer in the direction of doing it for a living. In fact, most people I know (in every field) don’t do nearly enough work for free, they’re not contributing enough to their community, not adding their expertise or their ideas to the conversation. As a result, they’re either invisible or seen as not interested.
Punchline: just because it’s free doesn’t mean it’s a good idea (or a bad one). It means you should think hard about how everyone benefits (including you). [PS a video from last year you might enjoy, complete with Y! tie.]
View full post on Seth’s Blog
Dangerous (in a good way)
Jun 20th
A path on the way to building a reputation:
- When someone asks you a question, they get an answer bigger than they ever expected.
- When someone gives you a project, they get a plan scarier than they hoped for.
- When you take on a project, you finish it.
If this is your reputation, what sort of projects and gigs will you find yourself getting? Not a good way to fit in, but an excellent way to be the one people seek out.
View full post on Seth’s Blog
Is Flexibility Good for Your Small Business?
Jun 19th
“Focus on your problem zones, your strength, your energy, your flexibility and all the rest. Maybe your chest is flabby or your hips or waist need toning. Also, you should change your program every 30 days. That’s the key.” ~ Jack LaLanne
Jack LaLanne was talking about fitness and health, but his advice also holds true for business.
You know your business. Maybe you need to “focus on your problem zones.” Maybe some aspect of your company is flabby and needs toning. Don’t wait for it to fall apart; tone it up now. My favorite piece of small business advice from LaLanne’s simple quote is the encouragement to “change your program every 30 days. That’s the key.” And that’s the definition of flexibility. But while we may not change key aspects of our company monthly, they do need to be reevaluated often—and changed or at least tweaked.
Flexibility is good for business and it’s good for your employees, too.
If you’re trying to get yourself to be more flexible and you’re finding it kind of difficult, then do some research and gather examples of companies that offer more flexibility than yours does. Learn from them. Focus on noncompeting organizations: They’ll be more willing to help and advise you because they are not worried about losing customers to you. But also consider something that Ivana Taylor mentioned in 7 Karmic Principles for Your Business and Life.
In this article she references Michael Roach, co-author of Karmic Management, and his seven karmic principles. Principle #6 says “To free yourself from a world that doesn’t work the way you want it to, learn about the hidden potential of things.” Change always holds hidden potential.
Since we can’t keep people who don’t want to be kept—personally or professionally—then doggedly holding on to old ways of doing business can be painful and unproductive. Turnover happens.
But as Anita Campbell highlights in Is Your Workplace Flexible? If Not, You’re Being Left Behind, there may need to be a greater degree of freedom. Referencing the Survey on Workplace Flexibility by WorldatWork, Anita states that “98 percent of U.S. employers currently offer at least one workplace flexibility program.” This refers to work plans like allowing employees to spend a few days each week working from home, or a four-day workweek instead of five, and several others. The point is, there are simple ways to provide flexibility to your employees if you decide that it’s important to your team.
Is it important?
Well, Anita says, “companies reported that flexibility had positive impacts on their employees’ motivation, satisfaction and engagement.” In fact, she states, “a stronger culture of flexibility was correlated with a lower rate of voluntary turnover.”
A motivated employee is a more effective one.
From personal experience, I know that flexibility can create an inspiring environment–and that is good for business. I mean, who doesn’t want someone on their team who’s excited about and focused on the work that they do, the problem that they solve for your clients?
In 3 Tips For Creating Motivational Environments, John Mariotti says, “No one can motivate someone else. They can only create an environment in which a person can become motivated. Motivation is a self-induced condition.” If that’s true, then we might as well focus on the part that we can control. Hire the best team you can, and create the best environment you can. Don’t just settle for what you have always done. Find the new “best practice” and establish a standard.
Is Flexibility Good for Your Small Business?
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Good Marketing Strategy Becomes Culture
Jun 7th
Good Marketing Strategy Becomes Culture
This content from: Duct Tape Marketing
A few days ago I wrote a piece called 7 Characteristics of a Real Life Marketing Strategy. The idea behind the post was to point out characteristics of some of the most powerful approaches to marketing strategy that often have little to do with what a business does and plenty to do with how that business does it.
NickNguyen via Flickr
The post was one of the more popular topics of late and prompted me to expand with this line of reasoning.
Any good marketing strategy requires people to pull it off and, in the case of a deeply embedded and purpose filled approach, strategy becomes culture. The marketing strategy is delivered to and through the staff to the ultimate delight and inspiration of the customer.
In fact, I’ve said it many times, your staff is likely delivering the same experience to your customers as they are receiving from you. You can make all the grand plans you like about delivering an entertaining, inspiring, simple, surprising or mission filled marketing strategy, but you won’t make it happen unless it comes from within – at the hands of fun, inspired, motivated, surprised and connected employees.
To that end, it starts with a culture filled marketing strategy.
I’m going to talk about this idea if great detail as part of the Verizon Small Business Series Wednesday June 8th at 2pm ET – you can Register here
I believe there is an intentional path to installing a culture that breeds a stronger marketing strategy and, while I don’t believe it’s as simple as saying it’s so, it starts with series of purposeful practices explored and expanded in ways that serve.
For now, you’ll have to join me for the free online seminar to hear more about this topic, but below are the points we’ll explore.
- The epic story
- Hire for fit
- Staff as customer
- Value creation
- Fail in favor
- Results review
- Touch point maps
- Cross function
- Marketing classroom
- Strategy scorecard
View full post on Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing
New Survey Site – Already Making Good Money!
May 5th
Our Affiliates Make Money! We are always testing to give you the best conversions. We try different site designs and only keep the ones that convert better – even if they are ugly ) – Converting 1 in 18 visitors on average right now! So let’s make money
New Survey Site – Already Making Good Money!
Is Your Mobile Device Good For Business, But Bad For The Family?
Apr 25th
Sixty percent (60%) of small business owners admit that they spend more time holding their mobile devices than the hand of their significant others. If that doesn’t tell us something about the pervasiveness of mobile communications, and our priorities, I’m not sure what does.
That finding comes to us from the Staples 5th Annual Small Business Survey (PDF), based on 300 U.S. small businesses having no more than 20 employees.
I was struck by several of the points made in the survey about mobile communications, suggesting how profoundly mobile devices have not only changed our business lives, but our personal lives, too. Depending on how you look at it, the results could be good, bad or a mix of both.
The impact of mobile technology on our life-work balance
For the most part, small business owners and managers tend to consider the virtual office to be a gift, according to the responses in the survey. We can draw 3 positive impacts on our lives due to the virtual office and use of mobile communications:
- We are less tied to our desks — like 56% of the owners and managers in the survey
- We can be more productive, professionally, by working during hours spent with family– which is the case of 43% of those surveyed.
- We feel less guilt taking vacations and can relax more — like 52% of the surveyed small businesses who feel more comfortable taking a vacation because they can stay plugged-in.
But is staying plugged in a good thing?
A majority of the businesses in the survey are family-owned (72%) and I know from experience that this romance with the cell phone (and other portable devices) isn’t necessarily good for family relationships.
Dr. Seth Meyers, a licensed clinical psychologist and relationship expert was quoted about the survey results as saying:
“Technology and mobile devices, in particular, can actually be good for family relationships, allowing Mom or Dad to stay plugged in with work while simultaneously attending events – ball games, school events – that were historically only possible for the non-working parent to attend.”
Dr. Seth acknowledges that “small business owner’s attention may be divided in such contexts,” but mobile devices still provide a “greater balance than life before such technology.”
It seems like a mix of good and bad to me:
- Good because you can actually spend more time with family.
- Bad because you may never disconnect entirely, and your family still may have to compete for your attention.
How do you deal with mobile devices?
Is the ability to plug back into business at any time and place a good thing? Or do you feel it’s an infringement on your personal life?
And what do you do to keep the balance (i.e., build the business and give family and friends the attention they need and deserve)? Tell us in the comments how you feel.
Is Your Mobile Device Good For Business, But Bad For The Family?
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
How To Be Really, Really Good at Everything You Do
Apr 19th
How To Be Really, Really Good at Everything You Do
This content from: Duct Tape Marketing
In part one of this post I suggested that we need to give ourselves permission to be bad at some of the things we’ll need to do in order to grow a business. Today I want to suggest how to be really, really good at everything you do.
clifnotes via Flickr
When it comes to excelling at something like running a business, the common advice among experts is to identify your strengths and weaknesses and build on things you’re good at, while finding ways to shore up your weaknesses.
I take a different view. I think society and our past experiences can mask our real strengths and trick us into focusing on the wrong things entirely.
People who have been led to the accounting industry for example, in some cases because they couldn’t decide on anything else in school, are often told that their creativity is a weakness.
Or, artists are made to believe somehow that making a profit or organizing a business that allows them to mass personalize their art are somehow sellouts or worse.
Simply having experience doing a certain kind of work is not necessarily the same as being good at a certain kind of work or having a special talent and knack for a certain kind of work.
I think business owners need to find and tap what I call their superpower and then apply that to every aspect of their work – even if all that means is hiring someone to do a particular something for you.
Here’s what I mean. While some might look at me and suggest my strengths are writing and speaking, they would miss my superpower, which is curiosity.
The reason my business exists is because I want to know how things work and why. I want to know what makes people tick, I want to know how to do everything in a different way.
So, when faced with doing something I don’t know how to do or something I know I need to permit myself to do badly, I don’t try to figure out how everyone else has done it, I engage my curiosity and wonder for how it’s done, and I turn it into something I explore and take apart, and that is what gets me by.
This view allows me to be really, really good at everything I do, no matter what that task at hand. (Or at least it allows me to be fearless in my approach to it.)
I have seven brothers and two sisters and my parents would always joke that when we were little and they would take the ten of us on some adventure (with ten kids any trip was an adventure) they would split us up and dad would watch me and mom would watch the other nine. My superpower found me at an early age.
Do you know your superpower? Everyone has at least one and if you can find a way to bring it to work in every aspect of the day, you’ll develop a powerful super charged business building weapon.
Is it insight, caring, math, vision, listening, hustle, flow, calmness, persistence?
You may have to dig deep to reacquaint yourself with it. You may have masked it because you think it’s not very business oriented. You may have to go back to when you thought anything was possible, back to when you played like a kid.
Finding and using your superpower is like tuning into a potent frequency – a fearless, never fail instinct that can inform every decision you make about your business. If you lose this signal, if fear creeps in, your passion for your business will drain – guard your superpower wisely.
Your superpower is your greatest defender, it shreds resistance and that inner and outer critic that tells you something is hard and that you’re no good at it anyway so why bother.
Your superpower allows you to outsmart the fact that some of this stuff is just plain hard and no fun and not natural.
Your superpower helps you tune out those invested in keeping you right where you are.
Your superpower zaps fear.
If you’ve been doing this for a while, maybe you think it’s no longer any fun, maybe you think you’ve lost your passion, or maybe you can’t control your overabundance of passion.
The only thing that’s real is your superpower – discover and tap into it and you’ll find an interminable source for making your art.
View full post on Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing
Can Doing Good and Making Money Go Hand in Hand
Apr 11th
Can Doing Good and Making Money Go Hand in Hand
This content from: Duct Tape Marketing
This post is one of a series of posts sponsored by UPS in support of the Inc Growco Conference held April 6-8 in Las Vegas, NV
The category of for profit social enterprise is a rather unique one still. The idea of blending social mission with a business that happens to make money is hard for some people to wrap their heads around, but its a growing trend among entrepreneurs.
The category’s most notable example is probably Tom’s Shoes. Blake Mycoskie’s shoe company is a marketing and financial powerhouse that provides millions of pairs of shoes for children around the world.
This past week I was introduced to another such company that has a great story to tell and is quickly becoming a financial success as well.
Better World Books claims the title of The Online Bookstore with a Soul.
They collect and sell books online to fund literacy initiatives worldwide. With more than 8 million new and used titles in stock, they are a self-sustaining, triple-bottom-line company that creates social, economic and environmental value for all stakeholders.
They were founded in 2002 by three friends from the University of Notre Dame who started selling textbooks online to earn some money, and ended up forming a pioneering social enterprise — a business with a mission to promote literacy.
In addition to selling new titles, Better World Books supports book drives and collects used books and textbooks through a network of over 1,800 college campuses and partnerships with over 2,000 libraries nationwide. So far, the company has converted more than 53 million books into over $8.6 million in funding for literacy and education. In the process, also diverted more than 26,000 tons of books from landfills.
Even as the company grows rapidly, creating a legitimate online alternative to Amazon.com, they continue to explore ways to stay true to their original mission. CEO David Murphy claims this might be the biggest challenge, but it’s also the most important thing they can do.
View full post on Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing
Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation
Apr 9th
I love my Amazon.com app for the Android! The day I heard Steven Johnson talking about his book Where Good Ideas Come From on NPR, I was able to pull into the closest parking lot and purchase it before I forgot the name of the book.
As Johnson and the interviewer talked about how Darwin’s theory of evolution ruminated and germinated in his brain, I could feel my brain starting to buzz with curiosity. Where do ideas come from? Are they sparks of brilliance or do they bloom and grow over time? Can we actually generate groundbreaking ideas on demand? I was hooked by the conversation and had to learn more than they were going to share in this interview.
Consume Steven Johnson’s Writing as You Would a Gourmet Meal
I find myself comparing books to food quite often, and this one is like a tasty nine-course meal. There are seven chapters – with an introduction and conclusion to serve as appetizer and desert respectively. I say it’s tasty because Johnson’s writing is both sophisticated and accessible at the same time. I feel like I’m describing a wine here. But in all sincerity, this is a book that truly serves as brain food, and you will consume and savor every word.
Johnson writes like I eat. I work my way around the plate; a bite of steak with a bite of potatoes and then a taste of veggies. This way I have a full experience of the entire meal and all its tastes, temperatures and textures.
That’s what it’s like to read Where Good Ideas Come From. There will be a paragraph about science followed by a paragraph about art followed by a paragraph about how the printing press was actually conceived as an offshoot of a wine press. This way you, as the reader, get the full experience of how ideas don’t just magically appear in full form; they begin in an embryonic state and then are fed by other experiences and thoughts you have. They mature and grow over time–often, unbeknownst to us. For example, Darwin had made unconscious allusions to evolution, but it was clear by his writings that even he wasn’t fully conscious he had hit on something so big and profound until years later.
In short, this is a book about innovation and the space where innovation occurs. Writes Johnson: “Some environments squelch new ideas; some environments seem to breed them effortlessly. The city and the Web have been such engines of innovation because for complicated historical reasons, they are both environments that are powerfully suited for the creation, diffusion and adoption of good ideas.” This is some heavy stuff and you’ll want to give yourself the time to read, think about and process what Johnson is saying on every page.
Interesting Concepts and Thoughts From Where Good Ideas Come From
The 10/10 Rule: The idea that it takes a decade to build a new platform and a decade for it to find a new audience. HDTV is the obvious example. I remember doing HDTV case studies as part of my marketing coursework in the 80s; 20 years later, it’s in my home.
Kleiber’s Law: You’ll learn about Max Kleiber, a Swiss scientist who measured the impact that body size had on metabolic rate. This is why animals with fast metabolic rates eat more and literally live “faster” than those with slow ones. This is why the lifespan of a fly is about 25 days and the lifespan of a turtle can be over 100 years. But that’s not even the cool part. Scientists from the Santa Fe Institute wanted to find out if Kleiber’s law applied to cities. Did cities slow down as they got bigger? The short answer is “not exactly.” There are some variables that increase as a result of being part of a bigger, more complex system – such as elements of creativity. So a city that was 10 times larger wasn’t just 10 times more creative, it was 17 times more creative. And a metropolis that was 50 times bigger was 130 times more innovative.
Tasty Tidbits Make for Educational, Informative and Entertaining Reading
There are hundreds of other examples and stories like the ones I described above nestled in the book’s 250 pages. And the research is so extensive that the Appendix looks to be another 50 pages or so. If you find yourself watching the Discovery Channel or the History Channel as you flip through television channels, this is a book you’d enjoy.
You don’t have to be a historian, a scientist or an academic to enjoy it. Johnson has done all the work for you, and will feed you all the information you need to be the most interesting person at your next dinner or cocktail party!
For More Information
I couldn’t find a website for Where Good Ideas Come From but I did find this really terrific four-minute summary video that you might enjoy. You can also see what Steven Johnson (@stevenjohnson) is tweeting about and follow him on Twitter.
Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
