At Toastmasters this evening, I heard a speech about finding your dream job and that it is never too late. The speech was about a man who quit his job, bought a few washing machines and "cleaned up" in the laundry business. Later, after making a very good living he sold it to become a chef. The point of the story was focusing on the second half (the chef), I was riveted to the first part, the laundry. Here was the story of a true entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurs have an overabundance of self-confidence. This guy not afraid to start a business. He knew he wouldn't allow himself to fail. He did it. Of course he must have felt the doubts and the insecurities. I'll bet he got tired and woke up not wanting to be “on” once in a while too, but he did it. He like everyone who succeeds was not afraid to live in that uncomfortable feeling. I propose that to feel “comfortable” is an alert that success has been capped.
How many people speak publicly with ease and complete comfort? Not many, yet there is a full room each week that I go to Toastmasters. These folks are driven for success in speaking and are willing to sit through the discomfort to attain it. Maybe successful people are just able to tolerate a higher level of this sensation than most.
Entrepreneurship must be the black belt level.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
The Best Deal in Marketing
In a recent Wall Street Journal blog, Amir Efrati points out that in May 2011 Google attained 1 Billion unique visitors to its various web sites. 1 BILLION IN MAY!
A week or so ago I read a cool article that discussed a theory regarding Facebook’s upward limit. It explained that it when Facebook is newly released in a country it gains new users quickly, until it has collected HALF of the country’s population, then new accounts slow. HALF A COUNTRY’S POPULATION!
Last week I posted a link on my Linkedin account that explained Twitter claims 13% of all online Americans. 13%!
Have there ever been such powerful marketing/sales tools available to us entrepreneurs?
Facebook, Twitter and most Google sites are FREE.
Do you use these services effectively? Do you have a Web 2.0 plan and is it part of your marketing strategy? My vote is that it should be.
As startup entrepreneurs we look for value and bang for the buck. These services allow us to reach the whole world – Wow, did I just see our audience grow exponentially?! But what is left is our effort to learn to use these tools to their utmost. It’s worth it.
With this amazing access to so many potential clients, partners, investors etc., it is quite obvious that we need to stand out from the field. This forces best practices and social networking innovation. Get on it. Deliver your message, be consistent and take advantage of what has never been available before. The world is closer than ever.
Good luck,
Brian
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Review Gates - Not so Evil
I've been working with a rather large client, managing the release of a couple mobile applications. Their processes are well documented and many. I mean it...there is a LOT of process. Part of the process the PMs have to schedule are weekly checkpoints with the review board and review board gates prior to advancing into SIT, UAT or Prod. I know that some colleagues may consider this overkill or unnecessary, but I have come to appreciate it.
This type of process isn't for us when we are wearing our startup manager hat. We insist on flexibility and agility. We establish process and try to create repeatable successful performances based on strong startup engineering processes. However, we don't have the immense infrastructure that these large companies do. They have to be extra careful to not effect other groups when making changes, and only well adhered to communications protocols will ensure that.
However, the exercise of going through these gateways has reinforced in my mind the importance of orderly project management and impeccable planning and documentation. Here are a group of folks that insist on seeing your plans and signoffs. There are no excuses, just data: "do you have X?" If not, go back and get it done.
Startups can get sloppy on points like I've described here. Using "We're a startup - fast and furious" as an excuse is a trap. I think we can all look at how we prepare our plans and take this kind of responsibility back to our startups. Don't get bogged down in process EVER, and don't put processes into place before necessary, but plan well and be able to explain your plan and validation every step of the way.
Best of luck,
Brian
This type of process isn't for us when we are wearing our startup manager hat. We insist on flexibility and agility. We establish process and try to create repeatable successful performances based on strong startup engineering processes. However, we don't have the immense infrastructure that these large companies do. They have to be extra careful to not effect other groups when making changes, and only well adhered to communications protocols will ensure that.
However, the exercise of going through these gateways has reinforced in my mind the importance of orderly project management and impeccable planning and documentation. Here are a group of folks that insist on seeing your plans and signoffs. There are no excuses, just data: "do you have X?" If not, go back and get it done.
Startups can get sloppy on points like I've described here. Using "We're a startup - fast and furious" as an excuse is a trap. I think we can all look at how we prepare our plans and take this kind of responsibility back to our startups. Don't get bogged down in process EVER, and don't put processes into place before necessary, but plan well and be able to explain your plan and validation every step of the way.
Best of luck,
Brian
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