Saturday, October 20 by Sabah Karimi in Operations | Leave a Comment
Motivation, encouragement, and positive feedback are just a few elements of a successful training program, and if you’re in charge of rounding up a sales team for your business venture, it’s important to use the right strategies no matter what the topic might be. People learn and absorb new information fairly rapidly, especially when they are comfortable and open to learning. Still, it’s up to the trainers to lead the way with the right strategy, and discourage the team from simply forgetting or filtering out important information. If you’re in charge of training a sales team, here are few tips to complete the program successfully:
- Emphasize the goal.
At each step of the training program, make sure that the objectives are stated clearly. This can help the recruits ‘see’ for themselves why they are being given information or asked a particular question. It also reduces wasted time and provides focus instead.
Plan ahead. You’ll need an outline of the curriculum for your training program, and this needs to be flexible enough to include question and answer sessions, breaks, and opportunities for feedback from the team.
- Highlight incentives and bonuses.
If your sales team is commission-based, it’s important to outline the commission schedule and provide information on any bonuses or other incentives as well. If you’re on a straight salary plan, adding bonus programs or even a prize for performance can increase motivation.
- Know your subject!
As a trainer, it’s essential that you’ve got the material covered and are ready for questions. Even knowing where to find the information can help you to success.
- Read your audience.
No matter what activity you’re doing—lecturing, a hands-on activity, web-based presentation—make sure you’re reading and engaging the audience as much as possible. This will help you read your audience and change the teaching format if needed.
- Encourage input for next steps.
Encouraging the sales team to provide feedback or ask questions about a process is an important step. Encouraging input will also help bring the message or lesson home.
What are some other ways to encourage, motivate, or teach your team? What works best in your company or organization?
Friday, October 5 by Sabah Karimi in Operations | Leave a Comment
Even when you’re working through the challenges and obstacles of running a business on your own, you may need to hire some help as you grow.
Finding the right people to join your team can be a challenge in itself, and making sure you have a pool of qualified candidates to choose from usually takes extra time and energy. If you’re ready to start interviewing and selecting new team members, it’s essential to develop a process that you can review with ease. A few items to keep in mind:
Acknowledge your work style.
It’s important to know and accommodate for your work style as you build your team. If you’re a micromanager or more of a hands-off leader, run this by your prospects and see how they react. It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to simply ‘switch’ to one or the other as you start working with other work styles and personalities, so make this clear from the beginning!
Conduct a phone interview first.
This can help you eliminate most candidates that will not be a strong match, and save both parties the time and energy needed for an in-person meeting.
Start with a list of objectives for your potential hire.
This can be an extension of your job description that lists specific projects and even upcoming deadlines. You can present this to the potential candidate after a second interview, and see how they react or respond to the requirements of their workload. A promising candidate will ask questions and even offer a few ideas of their own.
Provide information about policies and expectations at the initial interview.
If you’re using an interview process that requires a second or third interview during before selection, you’ll easily be able to screen out candidates that don’t think they can meet the expectations. This can easily prevent firing during your probationary period.
Leave them with a company summary and position objectives list.
This can also help screen out any candidates that don’t think they will be a strong fit after meeting with you. A simple way to screen out any candidates that may not be serious is to include an extra step of the interview at the end of the summary. On this sheet, indicate that they need to send a confirmation e-mail to a specific address for follow up. Those that can follow these simple directions can then make it to the next stage of your interview process.
Building a successful team will require work and many rounds of interviews, but your hard work and effort can pay off with the right screening process.
What are some other tips on interviewing, hiring, and screening potential candidates?
Wednesday, September 26 by Sabah Karimi in Operations | 5 Comments
If procrastination is preventing you from reaching your goals, timelines, and due dates it might be time to develop a new strategy. Procrastination is usually the result of overwhelm; if you think something might take longer than expected or you just don’t know where to start, the activity or project is much more likely to be put off. Breaking apart larger projects into smaller tasks can really help you get one step ahead, and its a valuable skill for tackling the next objective.
Microtasking has been explained in great detail by Steve Pavlina in his article on Microtasks . The article explains how focusing on just the next step can keep you going towards the end of the process with much less effort than thinking of the end itself.
Visualizing the end is a great strategy when you’re confident and motivated to get the job done. But what happens if you’re less confident and even uninspired?
Sometimes you just need to get going on that first important step until the rest starts to flow. If you’ve been having trouble finishing a project lately, try using any of the following strategies and tips in microtasking, and boost your productivity:
Develop an intentions list at the beginning of the day.
Sometimes acknowledging your intention to do something can quickly turn into action. Write down what you intend to do at the beginning of the day—even if you think you might not do it—and then move ahead with the most interesting to you. It’s a simple way to get started on your to-do list with very little ‘direct’ effort.
Break down large projects into explicit details and steps.
This can take you anywhere from five minutes to 30 minutes, but the idea is to make yourself aware of exactly what it will take. After that, you can ‘see’ the blueprint right in front of you; and assess how much time it might take you to complete each one. Just having this mapped out in front of you can help you get going and motivate you to check each activity off the list when completed.
Make a list of action verbs for your list.
Consider this a set of instructions to yourself, a way to follow directions to keep yourself on track. Use solid words such as ‘publish’, ‘brainstorm,’ ‘write,’ ‘describe’, and ‘refine’ to give you a sense of movement and activity for each step.
Microtasking comes naturally to computer programmers and web developers, simply because most projects are completed using the same process. Process trees, GANTT charts, and other organizational tools can keep projects on track and moving ahead on a timely basis. Still, you don’t need a computer science background to develop some of the same valuable habits, and can learn how to think about your tasks and activities in the same way. Just start thinking along the lines of breaking down and identifying each element of your project; it’s a much quicker way to get through your most toughest assignments!
What are some other tips that help you with keeping up your productivity and getting through tasks you’re procrastinating? Share them below!
Monday, September 17 by David Askaripour in Operations | 2 Comments
More than money, more than new services and products, and more than office supply, investing in people rains supreme. This concept cannot be ignored. Spending time, each an every day, investing in your employees, partners, and clients is absolutely essential to running a successful and healthy company.
Investing in your Partners
This may seem counter-productive to many of you, but having daily meetings to keep everyone on the same page is really a big thing. Going over the monthly plans, goals, and progress is necessary to keeping the entire team tight and cohesive.
One of the great things about having a team is that everything starts to become compartmentalized as each partner takes on responsibilities and projects of their own. This can also be a bad thing if it creates wall amongst the team. Sure, you want each partner to be focused on their individual projects, but you also want to have meetings where everyone is able to obtain an understanding of what everyone else is up to. Otherwise, poor communication will prevail which will result in a lack of productivity, morale, and focus.
Investing in your Employees
This will either break or make your company. As a founder or partner of a startup, you must have the patience — and even “ability” — to effectively teach. And let me tell you, it takes a special type of person who is able to explain a concept over…and over… and over… again until some learns what you are trying to each them.
All too often, people become angry and annoyed when someone isn’t learning something as fast as “you” want them to learn it. This isn’t fair. And someone who doesn’t have the skill, patience, and sincere desire to want teach, isn’t going to make for a good founder / partner.
You have to think of your employees as your greatest assets, even more than your clients and customers. Your employee are living extensions of your business — they will be on the front-line of your product and the ones with the closets relationship to your clients. You MUST not underestimate the art of grooming quality employees. Be patient, and take the time to really instill a sense of passion, motivation, and company pride in your employees. Do that, and your company will shine.
Investing in your Customers
Obviously, make the necessary monetary investments in improving the product and releasing new services. That’s a given. What I’m talking about, here, is taking the time to constantly reach out to your employees.
For gosh sake will you start replying to those personal emails you’re always getting from customers who simply want to chat with you! When was the last time you had non-business related chat with a client? Do you personally know any of your clients? Do you even care about your client’s lives / well-being?
If you don’t, you should! Always, always, always invest time in getting to know your clients. Of course you won’t be able to know everyone, but that’s not the point. The idea is to continually, whenever you can, reach out to your clients and let them know that you care about them. Yes, I said it: “care.” Founders and partners have this false belief that you have to be “hard and serious” all the time. Bollocks! This sort of caring positive energy will go a long way with growing your company. People want to know that you care about them — that you are thinking of them. You’re clients are real people, not “things” that pump money into your bank account.
Power to the People
So if you thought investing money back in your business was the most important investment, I hope you’re thinking on a new level right now. Invest in people. The people will take your business to new heights, not the products, services, or ideas. The power lies in the people…in the people….
Friday, August 17 by Gina Laverde in Operations | 1 Comment
So, you know you’re better at what you do than your competition – or you shouldn’t be in business. But, how far will you go to display your expertise over their incompetence?
You must know your competitors like you know your own business, that’s for sure. You must have a working knowledge of who they serve, how they advertise, what they charge and how they’ve progressed over time.
But, if you’re not running for political office, what’s the use of publicly dissing your rival?
Well, chances are that as soon as they discover the new start-up on the block, they’ll have some methods of their own for bringing YOU down.
Don’t outwardly discount their service – instead rev yours up with proof of why it works better. The battle can be won with happy customers and real life examples.
Business brochures and commercials that ridicule their competition, insult customer intelligence. I don’t want to buy a car from a guy who tells me why everyone else in his field is unworthy of my patronage. I do want to support companies who state examples of why their “unique” strategies work better. We’re not stupid consumers. We don’t expect companies to endorse their competition. So, as entrepreneurs, we need to advertise as consumers.
If there’s something you don’t like about what your competition does – set yourself apart by showing how your system exceeds their quality. Nothing portrays this better than testimonials from satisfied clientele. Your customers are more apt to believe in your product if they see results from their peers.
Post testimonials on your site and brochures. Beat your competition without spitting a negative word their way. New businesses successfully beat the veterans all the time. Just remember that how you choose to run your company now – sets the tone for your permanent professional image.
Make it a positive one.
Thursday, July 5 by David Askaripour in Operations | 7 Comments
I know plenty of young entrepreneurs, most of which who run a service-oriented business such as: web development, marketing, web design, online magazine, blog networks, etc… I rarely hear about young entrepreneurs who run some sort of brick and mortar startup. You know… like a deli, super market, landscaping, or what about a construction company.
I think that we young entrepreneurs — myself included — are really riding this technological wave pretty hard. It makes sense since we are the first generation to harness the true power of the World Wide Web. We grew up using the net, so it’s only natural that our businesses will be an extension of that medium.
But are we locking ourselves in to this medium? Are we becoming overly focused on the Internet and automatically building businesses around it without even considering other sorts of ventures? Maybe.
I love the net, no doubt. But it’s always refreshing when I do come across someone who has chosen another path. I have a friend who runs a tea shop here in the city, and I give him a lot of respect for taking on such a venture. It’s definitely an entirely different playing field than running a website or web development company.
No matter what sort of business you run, having an offline presence is always a good idea. You need to play both sides of the board. If you run a web development company and are running it out of your room, aim to have a real office one day. A place where clients can actually come in and speak to you in person.
Sure, many of us can run our businesses from our rooms perfectly fine, but I don’t know about you guys… but having a legit office one day is definitely a goal of mine.
For those of you out there who run shop or some sort of business where you actually see and talk to clients all day, you probably have an office and without it you couldn’t run your business. Who knows, maybe you’re wishing the exact opposite and want to be able to run your business from a room without ever seeing a client in person.
Any brick and mortar entrepreneurs out there? Let’s hear it… what do you do and how do you like having an office and being able to see your clients in person all day long?
Tuesday, July 3 by David Askaripour in Operations | Leave a Comment
Don’t we just love our networks… all of our business contacts, our friends, and acquaintances. Our networks are great, but we need to make sure that we nourish and maintain our networks, or they’ll wither away. Here are a few ways to keep your networks intact and healthy.
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Make Connections:
Connect people with other people who are inside of your network. When you combine people and they go off to work together or help one another out, that’s a great way to expand your network and also increase your value as a connector, a linchpin that knows how to connect the right people with the right people. That’s what leaders do.
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Educate:
If you just read an awesome article on jiu-jitsu and someone in your network absolutely loves practicing jiu-jitsu, direct them to that article — or if you read it online, send them a link. Feed your network with information whenever you can.
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Give honest advice:
Always give direct and honest advice to anyone in your network. Never be scared to give your honest insight into something. Be real with everyone in your network and they will love you for that. They know that they will be able to count on you for your helpful and critical feedback.
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Bring more people in:
Attend events and gatherings to meet new people. Get to know them and understand how they can bring value to your network and also your organization. When you actively work at expanding your network with new minds, your entire network benefits. Synergy. And guess what? You’re the one who was behind it all.
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Keep in contact:
If you fall of the face of the Earth and don’t maintain communication between you and your network, your ties will become weak and your value to the network will diminish. Make sure to send out emails or pick up the phone to remain in the loop of things and what’s going on in your network.
The more you work at your network, the more powerful you will become as an entrepreneur, as a connector, and as someone who is in the know of everything that’s going on. It takes work to maintain a network, but it’ll pay off big time.
Tuesday, July 3 by Gina Laverde in Operations | 1 Comment
When the time comes for you to collaborate with a copy writer to tighten your web content, or consult with you on your company’s written image, you will need to understand a few basic trade concepts.
Copy writers are not like graphic designers in that their talent is not as subjective. We know exactly when we’ve found the right designer because their images speak to us. Writers can do that too. But, you’ll find there’s a bit more science involved in deciding on which one is right for you.
A good copy writer must have a command of the English language. You must be able to read and understand their work samples. Nothing should sound jumbled or unclear to you.
When you contact a copy writer for assistance they should send you a note and work samples that relate to the job you are asking them to do. If you are requesting web copy – they should not send you samples of product reviews. The writer may make an exception by noting that they are sending extra samples to acquaint you with the range of their work.
Good copy writers should ask you tons of questions in the beginning. You want them to be interested in your company and get a feel for your tone. They must be able to adapt to your tone.
Sometimes copy writers exist to completely create concepts and tone for your site, and you should expect to pay more for this. But, oftentimes, in the beginning of your business career – you will only need them for consulting and editing purposes.
A good copy writer usually has a range of prices that they can charge for a given project, and should be able to work for an hourly or per-project fee. Remember, that when paying someone to write copy, you are also paying them to study your business, your competition and any other pertinent research that will make that copy shine. Copy writers paint in written words and can be a bit uneasy on the phone.
Make sure that you connect with your copy writer on the phone at least one time per project. But, the good ones don’t need to be babysat. Let them know what kind of updates you need and they should follow suit. For the most part, you should expect to connect with them through e-mail.
When you find your perfect copy writer, establish a slightly candid relationship with them. This gives them an insight on what you really want and helps them serve you best. No copy writer is completely free of mistakes. But a good copy writer includes second drafts as part of their fees and fixes mistakes quickly.
Monday, July 2 by Gina Laverde in Operations | 5 Comments
It’s so easy to get caught up in the need for experience and exposure that we often sell ourselves short in the beginning of our careers. Yes, we must earn the right to call ourselves professionals. Yes, our rates should grow as we gain momentum and expertise. We, in our novicehood, cannot pretend to compare our fees with those of veterans in the field.
But, all things considered, we should be charging what we’re worth. We can use standard industry rates as a gauge. But, my friend, I want you to also consider that just maybe you are better than some of your more seasoned competition. Think of the passion and effort that goes into pleasing your clients. Now, tell me – do you put less effort into a one hundred dollar job than a one thousand dollar job?
If you are smart – you want anything that leaves your desk to be as perfect as you can make it. Each and every piece of work is a patch on your boy scout/girl scout vest of entrepreneurialism. So, why not use the actual quality of your work as a factor for determining your rates? Why not express to your client that, although you are new, your caliber far exceeds the competition. In a not-so-cocky way.
Sometimes, I’d rather do a free project in the beginning stages of getting to know a client – just to let them get a taste of my ability. After we discuss my rates, I’ll suggest that they try me out for free. This might ease the queasy feeling in their stomachs that comes from knowing that my portfolio is not one hundred pounds. But, it is substantial and of high quality.
We know that financial times are pretty tough right now, and some potentially great clients may not actually be able to afford our rates. Sometimes, I consider that maybe I can offer a special rate for a series of projects, help the client pick up business, and then increase my rates. Well Kids – that doesn’t always work.
If people think that you are cheap it brands you. It either makes you appear unaware of your own worth – (which some clients love, by the way), or it makes you look less qualified for a job. Yes, times are tough right now. You need to budget wisely for your business – but, how often do you opt for a generic version of your favorite food item or facial cleanser? You pay top dollar for products that are worthwhile – and so will your clients.
Fill your portfolio with pro-bono work that you do for entrepreneurs like you. Share your gifts among a community of your peers. Earn your badges that way – and always charge bigger clients. Never sell yourself short – because it is very hard to go back. If Client X says they cannot afford you, then perhaps you cannot afford them.
Whether you’re offering a product or service – you should always put your best effort into creating top-notch quality and charge accordingly. Once your name becomes their “favorite,” they will afford you.
Thursday, June 21 by David Askaripour in Operations | Leave a Comment
A differential diagnosis is a method that doctors use to identify what a particular disease is. Doctors will make a list of possibilities then sit in a room and try to figure out, one by one, which disease makes the most sense based upon the patients current symptoms, past symptoms, family history, recent accidents, and a slew of other variables that may be pertinent to the patent’s condition. Tests are administered and questions are answered little by little — the doctors then begin to narrow the list and lock in on the disease. Ultimately, (hopefully) coming up with a solution.
I’m absolutely fascinated with this particular method that doctors use to figure out problems.
- Recognize that there’s a problem
- Make a list of possibilities for that problem
- Look into previous issues that may have caused the problem
- Brainstorm and question those possibilities
- Run a series of tests and begin to narrow down the list
- Lock in on the problem and provide a solution
I think that entrepreneurs and their teams should run a differential diagnosis on their business at least once a week — of course, the context will be different unless you’re in the business of curing diseases.
Once a week gather your team into a room, get some coffee, beer, tea, food, whatever you need to keep you in the room without running out every few minutes for a break. Make sure you have a big whiteboard, a dry eraser, and a bunch of markers. Then prepare to start thinking.
What the purpose here? The purpose of this diagnosis is the measure the health of your business. Here’s a sample template of how the meeting should be run and what you may want to start listing out on the whiteboard:
- What are the current problems and inefficiencies in the business?
- What are some possible solutions to those problems?
- Are there any previous issues that may have caused these problems? If so, who was responsible for those issues and what was their reasoning for them?
- Begin brainstorming about solutions to these problems. Don’t be scared. Really, throw anything you have out in the open.
- List a series of tests and improvements that you can implement immediately to remedy the problems.
- Run those tests and meet again to begin narrowing down that list and share feedback on those tests.
The purpose of such a diagnosis for your company is to keep everyone in check and to stay on top of the health of your business. The key is to really let loose and begin a hardcore brainstorming session where nobody is scared to start shouting out possibilities, solutions, ideas, theories, etc. anything that’s on their mind — no matter how wacky or absurd it may sound.
Give it a shot — stat!
Wednesday, June 20 by Gina Laverde in Operations | 1 Comment
I know that running your start-up can be a costly and painstaking experience that forces you outside of your comfort zone. Sometimes you’ve got to stand at the front lines and negotiate deals, answer phone calls, or God-forbid, host an event or speak in public – when maybe you’d rather be behind the scenes doing whatever you do best. But, the stress leads to thrill, and you’ve got to admit that you’re damn proud of yourself.
But, every unfamiliar task need not be a struggle. I’ve always felt extremely lucky that I decided to improve my gift for writing. I feel blessed that I had the instinct to run with a passion and become good enough at it to get paid to do it. But, becoming a good writer has far more benefits.
It takes a special individual to make words dance on the page – to intrigue a reader. Just as it takes a special person to invent a great new product or run a business. But, just about anyone with the drive to communicate and engage others can become a writer.
Unless you have a very gifted indentured servant who is willing to write newsletters, speeches, blogs, e-mails, snail mail, ads, mission statements, grant proposals, Christmas cards and web content – you pretty much have no choice but to develop your writing skills. You and only you are the best voice and face of your business because you love it and live it. Every word you write is forever imbedded in your company history.
Here are some practical tips to make you look better in writing.
Keep a journal: This is very basic and almost corny. But practice does make perfect. A daily personal journal allows you to exercise your skills and clear your mind.
Create fake ads: Come up with mock ads for your company and others. The point is to really stretch your imagination.
Read: Read whatever interests you, but read each day. You will get a handle on how the paid writers do it.
Start a blog: Every entrepreneur should have a blog nowadays. This is a free way to communicate with your public and get feedback. You want them to view you as a professional and expert in your field. So, good grammar skills are a must. I think it’s completely okay to break the rules of the English language as long as you know the rules.
Get Help: Buy a thesaurus, a grammar handbook and find a friend/reader who will swap stories with you. That means you should never let any written correspondence leave your desk without being proofread by SOMEONE else. I am notorious for not catching my own mistakes.
One day you will hire more professional writers to take over some of the dirty work. But, you will retain more control of the written quality of your business if you continue to improve your own writing skills. It’s really not some mysterious craft – most writers just want you to think that.
Tuesday, June 19 by Gina Laverde in Operations | 1 Comment
The best schedules include enough gaps to fit the unexpecteds. A schedule with more “un-planned” time gives you the opportunity to meet with a “new” client, go to a movie with your boyfriend, or spend a few extra hours brainstorming or perfecting a project. Of course, how you schedule your time depends on your priorities and responsibilities. But, I think that there are a few basic concepts that can help just about anyone in need of better planning skills.
My number one rule in creating a daily plan is to be kind to yourself first. And this goes for entrepreneurs, students, moms and garbage men. Whatever your daily gig is you need to plan around your most basic needs. Make sure that you leave time for sleeping and eating. And, be realistic with the amount of tasks you intend on completing on any given day. The worst thing about my current schedule is that I NEED to do more things than are actually humanly possible.
Do you try to cram more work into one day than anyone else in your shoes could do in 24 hours? No one will appreciate you more just because you are running yourself into the ground. When would you ideally like to start your work day? Begin your planning as close to that as possible. After years of trying to work from 9-5 (or somewhere around there) I recently discovered that I could get so much more of my work done at night. I am so much happier and less distracted once I have completed all of my non-work responsibilities.
My business allows me to work from 9pm-5am. And that totally works for me. But, maybe you have a storefront—and this is not realistic for you. Or maybe you’re juggling a class schedule and day job as well. Just remember that most every aspect of your business and life are under your control. You can decide when to work and how much work to do. But, it’s definitely going to be a process of trial and error before you are completely happy with your schedule.
If you live by the principle of “why put off til next week, what can be done today” – then you will always work more than play and pretty much always be stressed. New work arrives each day, so there’s no question that you’ll be busy tomorrow. So, don’t be afraid to leave some free time each day to just get your head together, or even open the door to better business opportunities.
Monday, June 18 by Gina Laverde in Operations | 6 Comments
Oh, to be more organized… it’s one of my greatest challenges. I dream if a day when everything in my office has a space, and every project has a set time. But, thankfully I’m a hippie at heart — because if I spent all day organizing, I may not get any work done.
How do you balance the need for organization and planning with the practical need to get stuff done? If you’re running a one-preneur show, like many of us, you’ve got to be the boss, the secretary and the janitor at the same time. And, it’s so easy to get caught up in the paper work and theories.
Overanalyzing your every business move can be a huge disservice to your company. The fact that you are still young and slightly in-experienced, gives your business the fresh face that the world needs. We are all expecting you to make SOME mistakes. So lighten-up man!
Yeah, right! Even good or simple advice is usually easier said than done. When you’ve backed yourself into a corner, it’s kind of hard to think about changing your ways. So, you must always start slowly and with the most important concept.
When I find myself doing too much research or color coding my pens, or some other anal retentive task—I attempt to remove the individual distraction. For example: I have hand-written charts of each section of my magazine that include themes, content, art and my personal notes. I had more charts than pages of the zine. If I wanted to make actual progress I needed to trash the charts. And I did. And, it was hard because I felt like I needed the safety net (the reassurance that I was doing it correctly).
But, we need to replace our old ways with new ones, or we’ll be lost. I replaced my charts with a mock magazine. Why didn’t I think of this in the first place? I’ve worked in the magazine industry. Maybe it was my need to be ultra different from my previous employers. Take a look at some of the protocol used by your previous employers. Have they taught you any short cuts?
You probably can’t stop yourself from thinking about your business, so it’s easy to overanalyze and want to achieve perfection. But thoughts do not make a business. Analysis does not make a business. Action makes a successful business.
Thursday, June 14 by David Askaripour in Operations | 3 Comments
Good question! It’s a tough question, really. I revisited this question last night when I told a fell entrepreneur of mine to “bury your idea.” Geezz! Dave… why would you tell her such a thing? Well, because the idea simply went sour and it wasn’t something that she was super passionate about doing, so when I see that happening — when I see an idea sucking the blood out of someone — I try to relieve them of that burden.
[What is this idea week or something? Yeah, we have been discussing ideas a lot this week. I think this is the third article on ideas so far. Oh well… rock on!]
If I were to name the top poison pill for young entrepreneurs, it would be “ideas.” Seriously, I’ve seen ideas kill the entrepreneur. We are like machines when it comes to ideas and many of us never know when to just start focusing on one. We want to do it all.
So what happens when we want to do it all? What happens is that we sometimes fall into a trend of focusing on “so-so” ideas that we may not really be extremely passionate about; but we push forward with them anyway.
As time passes we grow more and more distant with the idea. It begins to become a burden. It haunts us. It keeps us awake at night. It brings tons of stress and worry. But we push on, knowing that the idea really isn’t in our heart. We push on because we think — as entrepreneurs — that we should never quit or give up on something.
Well I’m here to challenge that notion about quitting and giving up. Yes, we should be quitters and give up on things in life. Just because we’re entrepreneurs, it doesn’t mean we have this “never-give-up” law up imprinted in our souls.
Sure, if an idea turns into a mess and begins to bring unhappiness into your life, then get rid of it. Bury that baby! It’s perfectly fine to give up on an idea and push forward with something else.
Think of yourself as an scientist… actually, don’t think of yourself as one — you are a scientist. And as a scientist you are going to explore and experiment and fail. Some of your ideas will be solid, some weak, and some “so-so.”
But here’s the thing: you need to learn how to quickly get out of a “bad” idea and start searching for a “good” idea right away. The key here is to find an idea that you can focus on and truly explore for, well, the rest of your life possibly. But, if you continue to keep yourself trapped in a series of “so-so” ideas that are eating up your energy, creativity, and well-being, then you are going to be the demise of yourself — your entrepreneurial journey.
Learn when it’s time to put the nails in the coffin and bury your bad ideas. Learn this now and learn it fast. It’ll push your forward as an entrepreneur and there will be less weight on your shoulders. And the less weight on your shoulders, the easier it’ll be for you to move the world.
Wednesday, June 13 by David Askaripour in Operations | 5 Comments
Yesterday my roommate ran outside to our veranda to share some of his great news with me. He was recently hired as an accountant at a firm that he really wanted to work at. He was ecstatic that he got the job, but that wasn’t what he ran out to tell me (I already knew he got the job). He was happy that they emailed him to say that they decided to give him an additional $5,000 on top of the agreed upon pay.
My roommate what expecting to get paid X amount of dollars per year and now, all of a sudden, he gets this email stating that he’s going to get paid an extra 5K. He was so happy and it made me think about expectations and how we entrepreneurs should always try to surpass the expectations of our subscribers, clients, and, ah, everyone!
It’s such a simple concept, but it’s brilliant. Tell / give someone something that makes them happy, then follow-through with something even bigger, greater, and more exciting.
We should seek to do this with everyone and everything. If you’re a web designer and your client signed the contract to have their site done on the 15th, get that baby done by the 10th! If you just launched a new service and people think that they are going to get 3 months for free, give ‘em 4! If you promised your girlfriend roses, give her diamonds (well… ).
When you continue to surpass peoples’ expectations, you begin to separate yourself from the rest. Your business is looked highly upon and people know that they are always going to get more than you are actually offering.
Forget business, as a person… as someone who always comes through and surpasses expectations is someone who gets really far in life. Someone who is constantly making people happy, adding extra value to peoples’ lives, and someone who is, downright, an awesome person who is sought out constantly.
When you become such a person, people are naturally going to be attracted to your business. They know that if you go above and beyond with everything else in your life, well, then, of course your business is going to work in the same way.
Be a rockstar entrepreneur and always seek to provide more than what you’re offering.
Wednesday, June 13 by Gina Laverde in Operations | 2 Comments
If you’ve already been blessed with what you’d consider your “big break” then you’ll want to have a solid plan to keep business flowing.
Maybe you’ve hooked up with a very influential “older-preneur” who has tons of contacts, or someone with clout really digs your product – whatever your case may be, time should be your number one concern. You need to react to the accolades quickly and gracefully. Don’t be like me and blush your way through meetings with people who tell you that you’re awesome. An ounce of humility keeps you human and easy to reach, but an ounce is all you need in this case.
Connect with your audience immediately. The internet offers so many easy ways to do this. Connect with them and thank them for purchasing your product or service, joining your group – or whatever they have done to build your success.
Tell the people your story. You can use the internet to share some of your background and future plans. Update them no more than once a month on news and progress.
Give stuff Away. Send your customers coupons, magnets, or any freebee that’s relevant to your industry. You also need to encourage them to refer their friends to you. I used to work for a multi million dollar company that was built on referrals. Referrals are FREE!!
Once you’ve covered the “thank you’s” and established a trusting bond with your customers you should step outside the internet. A hand written or hand signed post card is a nice touch. You’re still a start-up so you want to remain tangible to the public. (And, I think it’s valuable to always remain tangible). Your post card can double as a coupon or special event invitation (if you can afford that). I’m not talking about spam mail; I’m talking about connecting with the people who have shown some respect for your business. Sending them something every few months is enough. Even better if you can personalize it.
Calling or directly e-mailing clients works too. GoDaddy calls us about once every three months to thank us for using them and asks if we have any questions. Think about how busy your clients are; maybe they have questions but no time to call you.
If you can solidify your relationship with a core group of clients or customers, you are almost always guaranteed referrals. Keep in close contact and always remain human and friendly with them, and they will continue to feed you for years to come.
Friday, June 8 by David Askaripour in Operations | 2 Comments
- Gold cometh gladly and in increasing quantity to any man who will put by not less than one-tenth of his earnings to create and estate for his future and that of his family.
- Gold laboreth diligently and contentedly for the wise owner who finds for it profitable employment, multiplying even as the flocks of the field.
- Gold clingeth to the protection of the cautious owner who invests it under the advise of wise men in its handling.
- Gold slippeth away from the man who invests it in business or purposes with which he is not familiar or which are not approved by those skilled in its keep.
- Gold flees the man who would force it to impossible earnings or who followeth the alluring advise of tricksters and schemers who trusts it to his own inexperience and romantic desires in investment.
These five laws of gold were taught in the book The Richest Man In Babylon — a must read for all entrepreneurs. Can you relate to any of these laws?
Tuesday, June 5 by Gina Laverde in Operations | 2 Comments
After conducting my first round of serious interviews I realize that paper and words hold a lot less weight than I thought. Words are my business. I get paid to write and have done countless resumes for friends and colleagues. I hate when I see one of those pre-fab resume templates from MS WORD. You know, the ones with the word “Objective” right at the top.
Two of the candidates I’d chosen to interview had great e-mail etiquette, and well written resumes that showcased reputable references and experience. I was sure that once we’d met – these were the ones I would hire. In fact, before even meeting them, I envisioned myself having a hard time deciding between them.
The other two candidates I chose because of their diligence with getting back to me. It seemed as though they were really interested in the job. However, these two were the first ones to bring up “pay,” and that made me slightly uncomfortable. I didn’t want to hire someone who began addressing the “money” factor in their cover letter. But, considering their enthusiasm and references, I scheduled the interviews.
I pre-judged. I wanted to like and hire the applicants who were stellar writers. Probably because I am a writer and I could relate to them. Yes, it is extremely important to like your employees. It makes running your business and life much smoother. However, writing was not a job responsibility. I wound up searching for reasons to hire them.
When I met the other two applicants, we immediately hit it off because they were both more in tune with my needs for the particular position. While, all applicants had experience, the two who I was unsure about both showed great potential once we interviewed. And yes, I liked them too.
Their pre-fabricated resumes no longer made a difference because I knew that they were perfect matches for the position. And I actually had such a hard time choosing between the two of them, that I have hired both of them.
I am a writer. I am good on paper. But, I am probably not the best person to hire as a front-desk receptionist. I’m just not sure I can do all that smiling. People don’t always know themselves. They apply for positions where they won’t excel; maybe just because they are desperate for jobs. We can’t blame them. We just have to know how to weed them out.
People who need jobs tend to get really creative with resumes and cover letters. These folks may be worth meeting, but be careful about judging them solely on their application.
Here are some quick tips interview/hiring that I discovered through trial and error
A good resume will get them in the door. You, as the boss, decide what defines “good.” Does it stick out? Does it outline experience that is very close to what you are looking for? Do study their resume and record their full name to your memory.
Interview them with your partner. A second opinion is always a good idea, especially if you’ve never interviewed before.
Engage them in conversation that is loosely related to the job in order to break the ice and decide if you click. Get all of the details out in the open – especially pay and any major responsibilities.
Ask them if they are comfortable with the pay. Is it something they can live with? (You don’t want someone who will be looking for another job while working for you). Tell them that you want someone who will enjoy working for you and with you.
Look for good eye contact and body language. Its okay if they are nervous, but they should cool down as the meeting progresses. They must shake your hand and make eye contact when they do so.
Always sleep on it. If you like them, let them feel it, but never make them think it’s a done deal. You can really get a better perspective on things after you’ve interviewed all candidates.
Start your best applicants out on a trial basis, and let them know that it is a trial. Of course, you need to pay them, but there is no better way of determining whether or not someone is going to be a perfect.
Thursday, May 31 by David Askaripour in Operations | 7 Comments
I remember last July when I quit my 9 to 5 job to devote all of my time and energy towards my own business. I was only there for 4 months, but it was first official corporate job. If you’ve been following my articles for the past year you know that I was there for one reason: to raise some capital to put towards my business. But after 4 months of absolute bullshit and bureaucracy, I quit. By that time, Mind Petals was up and running and I was ready to push forward full-steam ahead. Chooo!!! Chooo!!
But there really wasn’t any solid plan in place. To be perfectly honest, I was scared after quitting. Sure, I felt liberated and free to push forward without having to worry about having a boss and crazy employees, but there was definitely fear and perhaps feeling a bit vulnerable.
I wasn’t sure what I was going to do to continue supporting myself living here in NYC — which is extremely expensive, mind you. I had enough cash to last me a few months in the bank and I won’t lie — I always had the worst case scenario if I needed it: reaching out to Moms and Pops.
But to tell you the truth, I’ve always hated being supported from my parents. Why? Because it really goes counter to everything that I’m about and everything that I’m trying to do. I have the sort of parents that would support me — financially — anytime if I needed it. And though that may sound good, it’s really not (to me, at least).
Having to rely on financial support from someone else is poison to an entrepreneur — trust me. It’ll kill your hunger.
So there I was. Just quit my job. No solid plan. Few months of savings in the bank. And absolutely not willing to resort to Mom and Dad’s bank account. So what’s an entrepreneur to do?
Well, I stayed hungry and sought out people who I thought that I could help with their businesses. I spent my days and nights searching on Craisglist for people who needed to consult about their websites; people who needed to learn about “blogging, RSS, and Web 2.0” platforms.
For months I kept at it and was able to secure around 5 or 6 steady clients who I would build sites for, consult with over the phone for $50 per hour, and help with their marketing initiatives.
My hunger to stay afloat and raise capital so I could continue to live in NYC and work on my business without having to worry too much about my bills, kept me going.
And though I no longer seek out new clients to consult with because my time is 95% focused on Mind Petals, I still maintain a few clients on the side so I can make just enough cash to devote all my time into my baby — MP!
So what’s the lesson here? The lesson is that you don’t always need a plan. Don’t let “not” having a plan stop you from moving forward with something. Don’t feel that you shouldn’t quit your job, move forward with a new idea, or anything for matter because you don’t have a solid plan in place. Sometimes you need to push yourself into a corner and fight your way out. Sure, it’ll be uncomfortable and scary, but from those feelings…from those worries and unknowns…. You can push yourself to accomplish great things. Back an animal into a corner and believe me, it’s going to do everything possible to get past you.
Plans are overrated.
Sunday, May 27 by David Askaripour in Operations | 3 Comments
In mathematics, computing, linguistics, and related disciplines, an algorithm is a finite list of well-defined instructions for accomplishing some task that, given an initial state, will terminate in a defined end-state. (wikipedia)
Most innovative and successful entrepreneurs, whether they know it or not, think algorithmically when attempting to solve a problem in the cleanest, easiest, and most efficient manner.
When you think algorithmically, you think in steps — not in large blocks. Thinking this way isn’t a pragmatic process, it’s one of defining small and concise steps (re: instructions) that all work together to solve a problem and produce the end result that you are seeking.
Let’s use a super simple example to demonstrate this concept. Say that you are a web designer and you are getting ready to jump into a new project. Now, there are two ways to approach a project, the sloppy way and the efficient / clean way.
The sloppy way goes something like this:
- Find the client
- Briefly discuss the project to get a “general” idea of the direction
- Jump into the project without breaking it down into tasks
- Complete the job
- Present to client
- Correct and revise
- Present to client
- Correct and revise
- Present to client
- Correct and revise – get the idea?
This is a very sloppy and inefficient manner to approach a problem. Your time is being wasted. The client’s time is being wasted. There is a lot of noise between you and the client. Confusion arises. Concepts become nebulous. And it’s just a downright dirty way of doing business.
Now when you think algorithmically, you approach problems much differently. You’d approach the job like this:
- Evaluate the needs of the client and gain an intuitive understanding of what needs to get done. You’d meet with the client with a pen and paper in your hand and start outlining exactly what will be needed to accomplish the task.
- Reduce, subtract, and simplify: You now take the general concept and break it down into smaller, fine-tuned, tasks. These tasks would be assessed in detail and broken down into milestones. At this point, you’d also assign your team responsibility and state who needs to do what. The idea, here, is to break things down and keep the steps simple as possible.
- Get to work: now it’s time to build the site and get the design rockin’. You would begin with mocks, present them to client, and then move on from there. Minor tweaking and adjusting will take place in this stage, but it shouldn’t be anything serious if you’ve followed steps 1 and 2 and kept the lines of communication open with your client.
- Complete design and review again with client. The site should be 99% complete and a small widow of time should be kept open for final adjustments and revisions.
You see what happened here? You broke things down into small steps and your time was spent in the most efficient manner as possible. You saved time, there were 85% less corrections because you and your client were on the same page throughout the process. Responsibilities were delegated. The job was completed smoothly and everyone was happy.
Of course this was a super simple example and thinking algorithmically goes way deeper than web design, i.e., building large-scale web platforms and dynamic applications that resolve large amounts of data. Think google, digg, etc…
The point: Break things down! Don’t approach problems in large and sloppy blocks and ignore the little steps in between. You’ll lose time and work inefficiently. Don’t work hard, work smart.
Here is a guide to get you started:
Basic Strategy for Algorithmic Problem Solving
Friday, May 25 by Ryan Kettering in Operations | 2 Comments
What are you doing with your time? Are you using it wisely? There are a million and one things that need to get done throughout the day, but are the things you’re doing going to help you make money? It is a fact, no matter who we are, we all get the same 24 hours in a day. It is what we do with that time that sets us apart from the next person.
Have you ever met a person that works all the time, maybe even too hard, but never seems to get anything done? How does that even happen? The better question is, how can we prevent that from happening? The answer: time management!
Times are changing and at the speed of a mouse click. According to Hyrum W. Smith in his book, The 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management , “the daily treadmill is accelerating, and we have to run faster and faster just to stay in place.” The fact is that not everything that needs to get done today for your business will actually result in profit today. But I’ll bet that you can change some things that will benefit your business.
If your peak hours for making sales are from 4 to 9, then don’t spend it surfing the net for equipment or for that new program that you need; Go make a sale! Save preparing mailers, doing research, updating your website, and things of that nature for when you don’t have the opportunity to be out growing your business. Why would you interview someone during your peak selling hours? Interview them later! If you don’t have time to send out those thank you cards at a later time, then simply get up earlier. This isn’t rocket science!
Webster’s definition of budget is to plan or provide for the use of in detail. If you can learn to master time-budgeting, then I guarantee you will have a much larger number to work with for your financial budget.
Here are 6 steps to help ensure that you are PROactive rather than being active with your time. By following these simple steps you will ensure that you are being PROactive with your time and in taking your sales and your career to the next level.
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Take inventory of your time; recognize what is good and bad
A mentor of mine suggested that I keep a log of everything that I did, minute by minute, for an entire day. If you do this and you will see how your time is being spent. This will also help you realize how much time you really are wasting! Also by keeping track of your activity during the day, you will be able to see where PROactive activities can be added! Let’s say you must commute for 45 minutes a day, why not start listening to books on tape? If you listen to 45 minutes per day for a week, you’ll have listened to 3-5 books in a week. Imagine how that could affect your sales!
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Decide what to cut out of your day
Once you have taken inventory of how you spend your time, you then can figure out what you should eliminate. Some things can be cut completely while other activities should have a limited amount of time that you can spend on it. One option, to better your time, is to make your day longer; try getting up an extra half hour earlier at the beginning of the day and going to bed a half hour later at the end of the day to prepare and reflect. If you look at your schedule and see those blank areas and you have no idea what happened in that time, I’m sure you’ll be able to locate time-wasting activities to cut.
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Decide what you should add
What things could you add to make your day more productive? You should ask yourself: What am I not already accomplishing in my day? What would I like to accomplish in my day? What am I doing now that I should devote even more time to? For instance, if my goal was to make better sales, I could call an extra 3 people a day. Three phone calls will take less than 15 minutes from your day, but in 1 month it would amount to an extra 72 calls! That’s almost like adding on an extra day of work into my month, using time that I would have otherwise wasted!
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Set the priority
How you spend your time should reflect what is most important. I bet you knew that, but do you follow that rule? Sometimes there is just not enough time to get everything done in one day, if there was then what would you do for the rest of the week? Put your tasks in order of importance so that you don’t end up spending your time on all of the wrong things. They say that ‘time is money,’ so if that’s true, let’s invest it in the right place.
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Schedule a time to review
The most important step in a PROactive process is to review and reflect at the beginning and end of each day. If you do this, even on days where you’ve wasted time, you can at least reflect back on the day and learn from it. Then apply what you’ve learned and make changes. I like to reflect and plan my days the night before, and then in the morning, all I need to do is review what I’m going to do that day over my cup of coffee. Don’t be discouraged if you find more and more black holes in your day that seem to eat away your time, because the more that you can find and fix, the more proactive you will be in the future.
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Put it in action now!
Now! Get to it! Don’t waste time! Action without planning is fatal, but so is planning without action! Because if you don’t take action, then reading this was just another time-vampire in your day.
Ryan Kettering is founder of
Kett Clean
Sunday, May 13 by David Askaripour in Operations | 3 Comments
Let’s start off with a little exercise, wha’da say? What’s the first thing that comes to your mind after reading the following phrases:
- Home gardening. Tools. Carpet. Paint. Windows. Blinds. Kitchen tables. Kitchen cabinets. Bathroom tiles. Garden hose. Tape measurements. Hammer. Nails. Power drill.
What’s your answer _______________
- Online research. Search engine. Looking up a name. Researching a company. Researching a book. Looking for links to a person. Book report. Hard to find facts. Online articles.
What’s your answer _______________
What’s the point? The point is that I am so confident that I already know your answer that I don’t even have to mention them. Why? Because both of these companies don’t push their products — that’s not how we have come to love and trust in them. They push their concepts.
And therein lies their power — when you think of these companies, you aren’t thinking about a sole product that they provide, you are thinking about their general concepts. And those same concepts embody a plethora of useful and helpful products and services that we have come to depend on.
Think of if this way: say you own a stationary store and someone calls you up asking for business cards. What’s the first thing that you are going to say (if you do, in fact, sell business cards)? You are going to say sure! Yes, we do sell business cards.
Ok… ok… that’s good and well. Whoo hooo!! You made a sale — cool! BUT… what has happened? You have positioned your company as a supplier of business cards, not a full-blown stationary that offers a wide array of products to help your business grow.
That client that you sold the business cards to is going to sell your company to her friends as a place to buy business cards, and that’s it! That’s not what you want to happen. You have to do more than just sell business cards, you have to sell your concept.
So the next time someone calls asking for business cards, you say “yes, we provide business cards… but we also offer a wide variety of “solutions” for your business. Are you currently getting your folders from another supplier? Are you currently getting your staples from another store? Are you happy with your current letterheads? Who do you use for your auto-mailers? Do you have branded envelopes?
Now you drop the bomb: “What if I could provide all of these services to you and you can deal with just one company and save a ton of money instead of having to pay all sorts of prices from a thousand vendors that you are currently using… how would that sound to you?”
Now, what just happened? Someone called you for business cards only, and they not only got their business cards, but an assortment of business solutions that they had no idea you could provide them with.
Congratulations, you just sold your concept… not just one of your products. This is extremely powerful, because your company is now positioned as something that provides business solutions, not just business cards.
Remember: sell your concept, not your products. Do that, and watch your business grow and dominate the niche that you are carving out.
Monday, May 7 by David Askaripour in Operations | Leave a Comment
One of the best things about being an entrepreneur is learning new things. Sometimes you may think that you know so much, but after to speaking and learning from someone else, with different perspectives, you begin to see just how much you really don’t know. And that’s a good thing. Because the more you don’t know, the more you will teach yourself and learn from others. If you think that you know everything, then you’ll never grow as a person… as an entrepreneur.
I just got off the phone with a great mentor and he said something that really made me think: “Put your business ahead of you and it’ll take care of you if you put in the work.”
Basically, he was saying that if you treat your business like a real person, like a baby that you are taking care of, and you put it ahead of yourself, you’ll be able to see more results and you’ll be better off in the end… even if it doesn’t seem so in the present.
When you’re spending 16 hours a day working on your business and you’re exhausted, stressed, and feel drained… those are just some of the things you have to go through when you put your business ahead of yourself. Sure, you may feel tired, but the extra work that you put into your business — the extra drops of sweat — will make that much of a difference.
For many of us, myself included, our businesses aren’t brining in much revenue. And let’s be honest, it’s hard to stay afloat and work with the same level of intensity when you have to worry about paying bills, food, social life, etc…
And if you’re like me, you’re business if your baby and you’ll do anything to see it grow up, prosper, and turn into something great. But you have to be steadfast in your commitment and devotion even when you aren’t making money, aren’t getting as many clients as you want or expected, and even when things look gloomy at times.
You have to continue to nurture, protect, and love your business — always keeping it ahead of your personal emotions, difficulties, and daily drama. You have to isolate your business from certain emotions that can force you into making the wrong decisions…that can lead to you giving up on something.
Keep your business two steps ahead of yourself, stay committed to seeing your objectives through, and your business will reward you with the dividends of prosperity, fame, wealth, or anything else that you are seeking in life.
Don’t give up on your business and it’ll never give up on you. You guys should be best friends. Partners for life.
Thursday, May 3 by David Askaripour in Operations | 1 Comment
Ok, so you have the idea. You’ve started working on the product or service. You have your team in place. And you are pouring your heart into your startup. Now ask yourself this question: Is my business incorporated? If you said yes, then pat yourself on the shoulder and say “Rock on!” If you said no, then punch yourself in the face, just like Ed Norton in Fight Club, and say “bad boy!” I kid… I kid… don’t punch yourself in the face (unless you really want to), just make a move and incorporate your business once and for all.
Let’s go over some reason why you should take the next step and incorporate your business:
Limited Liability: This is probably the biggest reason as to why you should incorporate. As a sole proprietor anyone that feels like suing your company — for whatever reason — is essentially suing you as a person. So, if you accidentally forget to cite a paragraph that you used from a magazine and placed it on your blog and get sued for it, you’ll be the one in the hot seat, not just your company. But, on the other hand, if you had a corporation, your company would be treated as a person — it’s own entity — and the liability would be shared between the both of you. You would only be liable for the amount of money that you have personally invested in the company. Essentially, your company would be sued, not you. And, guess what, that’s a good thing.
Taxes: Don’t you just love taxes? I do! Actually, no I don’t. Ok, back to taxes. Now, when you have a corporation you are able to take advantage of the tax perks that the government offers you. This is your present for being a brave entrepreneur, increasing worldwide capital, improving the economy, and creating jobs. You will now be eligible for small business tax deductions. You will be able to get multiple write-offs on almost anything that you purchase for your company, i.e., phone bills, notebooks, fax machine, books, and even food! (these are tax deductible).
You’ll be Official: After you incorporate, your company will be the sh&T! Well, maybe it won’t be, but it’ll be official. When people see an Inc, or LLC after your company name, they’ll automatically feel more comfortable doing business with you. They’ll say to themselves: “ok, well at least these kids have an official corporation and it’s not just some strung together startup like we originally thought.” You’re likely to get more business with a corporation under your belt.
Investors: Investors will feel much more confident in investing in your company if they know that you’ve taken measures to protect yourself, and, in effect, decrease their liability as well. Only a corporation can offer this sort of protection, not a sole proprietorship.
Live Longer: If you want your company to continue to grow when you are gone (re: dead or sell the company), then incorporate. Corporations can strive on when you are dead, sole proprietorships can’t (unless you plan on rising from the dead and running the company as a ghost). If you want to build an empire, go this route.
Transfer: If you have a corporation, you can simply transfer ownership by selling your stock in the company.
Shared Responsibility: Corporations usually have formal hierarchies that spread the voting and decision-making process amongst a variety of people. This is good because it ensures that your entire company won’t sink if one idiot makes a stupid decision that can take down the entire company.
So now what? Now you’ll either want to hire an attorney to get the wheels rolling on starting your company (you can find an attorney at legal match) or use a company such as Biz Filings and do it yourself (you’ll save money this way, but be sure that you know what you’re doing). Be smart and incorporate, the advantages to having a corporation are so great and it’s really not worth the trouble “not” to incorporate.
Sunday, April 22 by William Quisenberry in Operations | 4 Comments
I’ve often wrote articles in the past, and also had discussions with fellow young entrepreneurs explaining how dangerous it can be to try to make business decisions too quickly without properly thinking it over and taking things slow.
Well maybe this just isn’t always the case. My older brother is also an entrepreneur who has owned and managed several small businesses for about five years. In fact this summer he’s actually leaving his full-time job as a Math Teacher to become a full-time entrepreneur, because business is so good.
Well anyway my older brother is very gifted; he can take a great idea and turn it into some great profit very quickly. Recently while visiting another city he noticed that at a festival, there was a huge row of about 30 “Port-a-Potties,” with absolutely no sinks or water in sight.
He thought to himself, “Yuk! That’s sick;” all these people are using the restroom, but have nowhere to wash their hands. Then that’s when the light bulb went off, and he got the idea to sell hand sanitizer along this area of portable restrooms. He soon realized that in just two weeks there was going to be the largest crowd of the year converging on this particular city’s streets, for a HUGE festival.
There would be an extra 600,000 people in town attending this event, but he only had a few weeks to get this project up off the ground and set up in time to meet the huge demand and opportunity. I mentioned that maybe he should just wait to the next year, so he could do proper research, but he didn’t agree.
So he quickly did some market research, wrote a detailed business plan, and contacted wholesalers and manufacturers/ distributors of hand sanitizer products. Then he came up with his price points, his expense reports, his break-even points, and profit margins.
Once he had his detailed report, he went to his elite group of private investors that he has consistently used over the years. He has access to about five investors, all who are very wealthy and successful, and have learned to trust in my brother’s ventures and projects.
After getting his investment capital, he struck an awesome deal with a manufacturer with a great wholesale price. Then he got all his licensing work done, received his permit to set up a vending booth at the festival, purchased his supplies, and hired individuals to help run the booth, and do foot marketing/sales.
After this, he simply tied up other loose ends and managed the whole project. Because he was able to strike an awesome deal with the manufacturer, he had a HUGE profit margin. So the project was an instant hit and he later made a great profit, even after paying his sales team, his investors and all the fees.
So judging by this example, maybe it isn’t always fitting to wait for things to work themselves out and maybe “time” is overrated. Or maybe this example is just an exception to the rule and my brother lucked out.
I’m not really sure. One thing that I do know is that you better make sure that you have a strong idea and plan in place. Also when you do get that magical idea, you must follow your gut when making decisions.
You never know what you could be embarking upon! There are no set rules in entrepreneurship and business; I think that’s what’s so cool about it! So remain true to yourself and be smart, I think you can’t go wrong with that combo.
Thursday, April 19 by Alex Kadis in Operations | Leave a Comment
To make any business work, you need a team. That’s right Mr. (or Ms.) Entrepreneur, you can’t do it alone.
Throughout life, starting in kindergarten when you were taught how to share, you had to work with others. Some people are better at it than others, but nonetheless, you rarely have much choice in the matter. Despite the fact that we all must work together to attain any progress in any field, it’s notoriously hard to get people to work together.
When working in a group you may find that some individuals participate in what social psychologists call social loafing. In basic terms, it means that when you get a bunch of people in a group with the intention of working together, some won’t work up to caliber. They assume that others in the group will pick up the slack.
Take a minute to remember the last time you were put in a position where you had to work in a group. Did everyone work the same amount? Was it because they were unable to? Were they simply letting you do all the work?
If you put yourself in a position where you do all of the work for someone, what motivation do they have to do it themselves?
The key to getting the team to work together is really in getting them involved. If you’re not part of something, how can you feel responsible for the outcome?
The three C’s of motivation by Alfie Kohn (source) [PDF]
Choice
The people you are working with (or are working for you) should have some control over what they do, whether it simply picking what order things are done in, or getting to do the task of their choosing.
Collaboration
The people in the group need to be able to work together effectively and efficiently.
Content
You need to give everyone something to do. You can’t quite simply say to everyone the list of tasks that need to be done. You must assign everyone a task and ensure that they complete it.
Note: Be careful you also don’t micromanage. People must be given the reigns with enough slack to do with them what they will. You must be firm enough not to let them wander but also not too firm in that they begin to despise your actions.
Finding the correct balance between helping out and micromanaging is difficult, and can only come with experience.
Everyone has to work in a group. Make sure everyone has something too do, and does it. Just don’t be to hard on them if something isn’t perfect.
Monday, April 16 by David Askaripour in Operations | 4 Comments
For the first time since running my business I got back a tax return. YAY! It was definitely a good feeling, albeit it was only a few hundred dollars. Still, it’s good to know that my company is paying and receiving taxes. For the first few years, I didn’t do taxes for my business. I ignorantly thought that since I didn’t make any money — and only lost money — that I didn’t need to do my taxes. Good thing I have an accountant now, eh.
Ok, so the purpose of this article is to coax my fellow young entrepreneurs — you — to reinvest your taxes back into your business. Even if you don’t have a business now, but got back some cash from your 9to5, you should use that money for your startup.
For the past few months I’ve been wanting to get serious with podcasting, so I invested my tax returns into some sweet podcasting equipment (mixer and mic) and a podcasting book.
You should do the same. Think about what you need for your business. Do you need a new design, some new books, or maybe a new computers? Well, be smart, and use your tax returns to either outright purchase those things or to offset the expense.
Running a successful business has a lot to do with cash flow and investing money back into the business. I know… I know… maybe you’ve been dying to get that 80GB video iPod, or a new phone…. but think twice if you know that there are more pressing investments that you need to make, investments that will add value to your business and create a better experience for your customers.
And it goes way beyond your tax returns; you should always be thinking about ways to get more money back into you business. As a startup, you can’t afford to squander your money on unnecessary things when you have a company to keep alive.
Sure, have fund and spend money on toys and things that you want — no doubt. But, just make sure that you are spending “more” on your business. Your business should be your number one investment — always.
Sunday, April 15 by David Askaripour in Operations | 3 Comments
Over the weekend, while hanging with some young entrepreneurs, I was engaged in a conversation with someone and all of a sudden he said something very shocking… so shocking that it completely threw off the positive mood in the room. He said: “Fuck social entrepreneurship! I don’t believe in the whole concept of giving back.”
I was totally shocked when I heard that statement. I automatically knew, right away, that this person wasn’t going to go far in life. I wanted nothing to do with him after that statement. Now, a few days later, sitting on my computer writing this… I begin to think about customers and clients.
Why customers and clients? How do they relate to some negative jerk who is pretending to be an entrepreneur? Well, it got me thinking. Thinking about how the characters of your clients and customers can affect you and your business.
Just as that one bad apple destroyed the chemistry in the room with such a negative statement, can your clients and customers leave a bad impression on other customers because of their negative actions? Can they discourage other people to not use your service because they don’t want to be associated with negative people…even if they are just your customers and not a part of your company?
I guess the point here is: your customers and clients “are” a part of your company. It doesn’t matter if they weren’t a part of the founding team, it doesn’t matter if they didn’t come up with the idea, and it doesn’t matter if they don’t have an equity stake in the venture… they are still a part of your business and their actions can either positively or negatively impact your business. Your customers make or break your business.
We don’t have the power to control how our customers behave and the things that they say, but we should do everything in our power to disassociate ourselves with customers who can potentially rub other customers the wrong way.
For instance, say someone was a paying subscriber to Mind Petals magazine. He loves to read Mind Petals magazine and promotes it everywhere he goes. But one day I wake up and read that particular customer’s blog and find out that he was caught stealing computers from his college computer lab.
Personally, I’m going to drop that client right away — period. I simply wouldn’t want to be associated with such a person. Moreover, I wouldn’t want to be responsible for associating that person with my other clients. To me, that wouldn’t be fair.
Look at what happened to Imus. Quickly after his racist comments, he lost all of his corporate sponsors — American Express Co., Sprint Nextel Corp., Staples Inc., Procter & Gamble Co., and General Motors Corp. Subsequently losing his job. Corporations didn’t want to be associated with his racist views and didn’t want their customers to be — in anyway — connected to someone who uses racist language.
Spend some time thinking about your customers. Get to know as many of your customers and possible. Become their friends, listen to them, and drop the bad ones that you come across. Keep your business positive and weed out the trash.
Tuesday, April 3 by Darius Askaripour in Operations | 8 Comments
Reading an article today concerning deaths that have resulted from mans desire to possess resources and methods of energy, I stumbled upon a very introspective concern. Man has waged war against his neighbor for oil, what many call our most precious commodity. I find that interesting and thought about the simple fact that death would arise, civil unrest, and chaos would ensue over a thick liquid. Hours were spent pondering what I believed to be my most precious commodity; what was the item, in this complicated world that I needed most?
I looked up at the clock and realized that I had to set it an hour forward due to daylight savings and there it was. So blatant, so modest, so important and vital, yet so silent and patient. The most constant and consistent thing in my life; so dependable and always measurable. The one item that truly controls my every decision. It governs my ability to make choices and I must consider this item very carefully when planning my day. It’s the only thing that is always working against me.
Time, the thief of opportunity many say, is my most precious commodity.
Think about it this way, why do Americans spend millions and in some cases billions of dollars going to the gym, buying vitamins? Why is the wellness and fitness business one of the most rapidly growing in our nation? It’s because we are all looking for a way to spend a few more moments in our life, before our time expires.
You can’t escape time. It tells you when to not drink milk or when you should arise from your bed in the morning. In almost every room in a normal American home we can find a clock or in silence, hear the subtle tick-tock, tick-tock reminding us that time is running out. Many of us punch in and out of work on a time card and our lives have been set on a 24 hour cycle.
How often have you heard the phrases, “I wish I had more time”, “there are only 24 hours in a day”, “the meter is running”, “I’m running out of time” or “I’m on the clock”? We as entrepreneurs are always trying to find a way to have more time and clock management is a vital necessity of the successful business owner.
It doesn’t matter if you own a pizzeria, fortune 500 company, or mid-sized program consultation firm, time is what we all desire most. Running a business is not easy and there are many tasks and responsibilities we have to carry out as owners.
When I first opened my doors, as a financial firm I had two partners. One was gone in the matter of a week due to his inexperience; the second was gone in a few months due to his inability to produce business. All successful companies have their own stories of previous partners, dissolutions, and reformation; even though I’m a little off topic, my point is that when you’re alone, you have to become a man or woman of many hats.
Working alone is great because all decisions you make are yours, there is more control over the business, and you get to keep all the money, but the serious downside is time consumption. I found that when I was all alone, I found a new sense of freedom and had to become more accountable than I was before because there was no one else to take responsibility. I worked 13 hour days alone and found that at the end of the work day, I would go to sleep and do it all over again. Days seemed like minutes and weeks began to blur into a hazy memory. Though I was making very good money and business was booming, I was overworked, stressed out, and reaching my limit.
I explained all of this to my brother and he recommended a book, Go It Alone by Bruce Judson. I didn’t find it profound or life-altering but the one thing that stuck out was this idea of multiplying yourself, outsourcing projects or tasks, and not becoming a slave to your business. Our greatest asset is time, and I devised a way to create more of it, in order to be creative and grow my business in a healthy manner.
I discovered ways to make things more efficient and profitable by:
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Teaching other people how to replicate myself and employed numerous loan officers
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I hired a processing team, making my company more efficient
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Outsourced business
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Used the Internet to market and share information with my network of employees
- Formed a well-structured web, comprised of different companies that perform
specialized tasks for me (i.e. appraisers, title insurance, attorneys, and accountants)
- Perfected a replicable system that was simple, effective, and proven
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Educated myself about the industry on a daily basis
- Found answers in my mentors
- Devised auto-pilot systems that work even when I’m sleeping
That was some time ago and I am constantly tweaking and improving my system. I now have net branches all over the East Coast, a solid team of effective employees, and well….more time. I can savor each breath and I can’t remember the last time I used an alarm clock. Actually I will never be “on the clock” again. I travel when I please, eat when I want, and “punch in / punch out” mentally at my own discretion.
We are only alive on this spinning globe for a few short moments and we as entrepreneurs are always faced with the fact that if we just had more time we could blossom into the most beautiful fruit bearing tree. Time is our most precious commodity; not oil, gold, uranium, or pork bellies…. but that silent, unyielding whisper of tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.
What does time mean to you? Can you be more efficient? Any time saving tips you can share would be appreciated. How do you plan on spending your time on earth… your lease could be up any day?
Darius Askaripour is the founder of mortgage company, Vitruvian Lending.
Friday, March 30 by David Askaripour in Operations | 5 Comments
The power of one mind can bring about amazing and brilliant ideas. The power of two or more minds can bring about something one mind cant: synergy.
We all know the concept of synergy. A simple math equation explains it best: 2 + 2 = 5. When you have multiple minds focused on the same thing, the whole thinking process will always be greater than sum of the parts.
That’s where advisors come in handy. We all need them. No “if” “ands,” or “buts”. Advisors can be anyone. Your dad who helps you think through your new ideas, your best friend who offers constructive criticism, or perhaps that one person who invariably rips apart all of your ideas and helps you to rebuild them and think in a new way.
Advisors are critical to your success and they should always be people who genuinely want to see you succeed and accomplish great things. If you think that you can do it all alone, without peoples’ input, then you’d be partially correct.
You can go far, sure, but without someone to push you, to criticize your ideas, and to offer new ideas and suggestion, your concepts won’t breakthrough into astronomical heights.
There are infinite possibilities, infinite ways to think about something, and ways to improve upon an idea. When you take the time to consult with your advisors, you are unlocking those possibilities. You are unleashing more minds, packed with more thoughts, to improve, refine, and stretch your original concepts.
When you start to trust in your advisors, accept their feedback, and incorporate it into the way you think about something, you’ll see your ideas begin to grow stronger. Advisors, my friends, will make you a much wiser person and will open doors that were once locked behind the mind of only one person.
Saturday, March 17 by David Askaripour in Operations | 2 Comments
Go to any restaurant in the world and randomly choose any dish off of the menu and ask the waiter if it’s a good meal. 99% of the time – no matter what you pick – you are going to hear something like: “That’s a wonderful choice. It’s excellent!”
Go ahead and ask how the dog shit with tartar sauce is and she’ll say: “Wonderful!”
Do you want to know what I say to that? I say bullshit. It doesn’t matter what dinner you choose; you can throw a dart at the menu and pick a meal and you’ll get the same old, memorized, half-assed response every…single…time…
So what’s the lesson here? The lesson is to be open, honest, and upfront with all of the services that your business offers. You may have a wide variety of services that meet different needs for different clients.
Don’t be a fool by letting your customers think that any one of yo