6 Priceless Business Lessons
By Steve Tobak | August 25, 2010
You learn how to learn in school. You learn how to do a job at work. And if you work hard and groom yourself well, you may eventually learn how a business operates in an industry. But once in a blue moon, through experience, you pick up one of those lessons that nobody can teach you. Those hard to come by lessons are truly priceless.
Last week, in 5 Business Books That Made a Difference, I mentioned Mark McCormack’s What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School. That inspired me to share a few big lessons I’ve learned over the years. Each one figured prominently in my success:
If you want to gain management cred, tell folks what you’re going to do and then do it. Having the guts to stick your neck out and take a big risk, then executing and delivering on the promise, has management written all over it. It works both internally and externally. Broadcasting an aggressive goal and then achieving it is far more effective than just doing it. Just make sure you pull it off. Sure, it’s a risk, but no risk, no reward, right?
If you’re way behind on a hot deadline, take some time to relax and chill out. First, you’ll think more clearly and be more productive going down the stretch. Second, there’s a reason why you’re behind to begin with and that pause may provide just the right inspiration or perspective you needed all along. Third, in case you need anyone to help you, nobody likes working with a stress monster.
If you want something badly, consider what would happen if you don’t get it. The earth will continue to turn and your life won’t end. In fact, nothing will happen, except that you’ll lighten your load, reduce your expectations, and in so doing, actually increase your chances of getting what you want. It’s the whole “if you want something let it go” thing. It really works.
If you want to be calm during an important presentation, stress-out beforehand. When you stress yourself it raises your blood pressure and your arteries widen to account for the change. Afterwards, when your body returns to normal, you feel a physical sense of calm that lasts a pretty long time. It’s the same reason you feel relaxed after getting out of a hot tub or a sauna. I noticed this empirically; a doctor I know added the explanation.
If you want to get support for a groundbreaking product or program, lose the big pitch. Grassroots efforts sell new ideas far more effectively than mass-market approaches. It works internally or externally. Get support from key stakeholders one-on-one rather than attempt to take on the world and sway everyone all at once. Pretty sure that was inspired by Geoffrey Moore’s Crossing the Chasm.
If you want someone to talk, shut up. Whether it’s a customer, an employee, your boss, whoever, set the stage by stating your purpose and then shut up. In general, people like to talk and that’s exactly what they’ll do, probably telling you far more than if you’d tried to drag it out of them bit by bit. If the person is unusually guarded, then give a little to get a little. Ask leading questions and listen actively, of course.
Okay, I shared a few of my secret lessons, now it’s your turn. Think hard and help teach your fellow The Corner Office readers.
MY THOUGHTS
From these tips, I find that shutting up is the best. Shutting up means giving others the chance to talk. And yourself the time to listen. By listening, you learn more about everything. But don;t jus sit there like dumbly nodding your head. You're supposed to listen well and ask smart questions.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Starting a Business? FIND AN ANGEL
STARTING A BUSINESS? FIND AN ANGEL
from the article 'Advice for Budding Entrepreneurs'
By Steve Tobak | February 11, 2011
Find an angel.
The whole mentor and coach thing has become so overblown that - I know this is going to piss a lot of people off, but - I wouldn’t go that route. Instead, find an angel investor who’s willing to provide seed funding for minority ownership. Why? Two reasons:
1) Objective feedback and validation from a professional investor, another pair of eyes, is huge, and
2) to help you navigate the business stuff that isn’t your forte.
MY THOUGHTS
why would i open a business that is not my forte? opening a business is hard enough. opening a business you know very little about is suicide.
from the article 'Advice for Budding Entrepreneurs'
By Steve Tobak | February 11, 2011
Find an angel.
The whole mentor and coach thing has become so overblown that - I know this is going to piss a lot of people off, but - I wouldn’t go that route. Instead, find an angel investor who’s willing to provide seed funding for minority ownership. Why? Two reasons:
1) Objective feedback and validation from a professional investor, another pair of eyes, is huge, and
2) to help you navigate the business stuff that isn’t your forte.
MY THOUGHTS
why would i open a business that is not my forte? opening a business is hard enough. opening a business you know very little about is suicide.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Get a Partner Before Staring a Business
Before starting a Business: GET A PARTNER
from the article "Advice for Budding Entrepreneurs"
By Steve Tobak | February 11, 2011
Get a partner
Just about every successful start-up - Silicon Valley or otherwise - has cofounders. Apple, Microsoft, Intel, Google, Hewlett-Packard - it’s a long, long list. Don’t get me wrong; having a partner is often difficult and they don’t always work out. But the benefits of having someone to bounce ideas off and a two-person support system far outweigh the negatives. And partners have a high level of credibility with entrepreneurs.
MY THOUGHTS
starting a new business, especially your first, is not the time to go alone. there's a lot of conceptualizing, planning, brainstorming involved. do you really think you can brainstorm with yourself? as far as i know - all of us - we only have 1 brain!!!
from the article "Advice for Budding Entrepreneurs"
By Steve Tobak | February 11, 2011
Get a partner
Just about every successful start-up - Silicon Valley or otherwise - has cofounders. Apple, Microsoft, Intel, Google, Hewlett-Packard - it’s a long, long list. Don’t get me wrong; having a partner is often difficult and they don’t always work out. But the benefits of having someone to bounce ideas off and a two-person support system far outweigh the negatives. And partners have a high level of credibility with entrepreneurs.
MY THOUGHTS
starting a new business, especially your first, is not the time to go alone. there's a lot of conceptualizing, planning, brainstorming involved. do you really think you can brainstorm with yourself? as far as i know - all of us - we only have 1 brain!!!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
ADVICE FOR BUDDING ENTREPRENEURS
WHAT OWNERS OF BUSINESS START-UPS SHOULD DO
from the article "Advice for Budding Entrepreneurs"
By Steve Tobak | February 11, 2011
If you’ve got your own company or are planning on starting one, there is one thing I can tell you with absolute certainty. There will be times when you think, what the hell have I done? I can’t do this!
Fortunately, in all likelihood, you’ll be wrong. But who in the world is going to tell you that, with authority, when the time comes? More to the point, who will you believe?
The funny thing about entrepreneurs is that they tend to be skeptics who don’t easily trust others. They generally keep their own counsel. So who are they going to believe, their own inner voice, or their friend or spouse who, by the way, sort of has to say, “Don’t worry; you can do it!”
You see, we overachieving, success-minded people are our own worst enemy. We’re notorious victims of self-doubt, anxiety, and self-limiting behavior that, all-too-often, results in shooting ourselves in the foot … or somewhere even worse.
For enterprising people, the whole idea of finding a mentor, a partner, or like-minded people for support and to bounce ideas around is a complex issue that represents a critical factor in their ultimate success or failure. And since I’ve got a few decades of experience with this sort of thing, here’s some …
Advice for Budding Entrepreneurs
* Get a partner
* Find an angel
* Have a sponsor
* Maintain balance
* Take baby steps
MY THOUGHTS
from what i've seen, entrepreneurs (the serious ones) spend more time working than those who work in an office. if you've just started a business or thinking of starting one,i will post the short explanations to to the 5 points in this article. wait for it.
from the article "Advice for Budding Entrepreneurs"
By Steve Tobak | February 11, 2011
If you’ve got your own company or are planning on starting one, there is one thing I can tell you with absolute certainty. There will be times when you think, what the hell have I done? I can’t do this!
Fortunately, in all likelihood, you’ll be wrong. But who in the world is going to tell you that, with authority, when the time comes? More to the point, who will you believe?
The funny thing about entrepreneurs is that they tend to be skeptics who don’t easily trust others. They generally keep their own counsel. So who are they going to believe, their own inner voice, or their friend or spouse who, by the way, sort of has to say, “Don’t worry; you can do it!”
You see, we overachieving, success-minded people are our own worst enemy. We’re notorious victims of self-doubt, anxiety, and self-limiting behavior that, all-too-often, results in shooting ourselves in the foot … or somewhere even worse.
For enterprising people, the whole idea of finding a mentor, a partner, or like-minded people for support and to bounce ideas around is a complex issue that represents a critical factor in their ultimate success or failure. And since I’ve got a few decades of experience with this sort of thing, here’s some …
Advice for Budding Entrepreneurs
* Get a partner
* Find an angel
* Have a sponsor
* Maintain balance
* Take baby steps
MY THOUGHTS
from what i've seen, entrepreneurs (the serious ones) spend more time working than those who work in an office. if you've just started a business or thinking of starting one,i will post the short explanations to to the 5 points in this article. wait for it.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR
Why You Shouldn't Become an Entrepreneur
By Steve Tobak | October 27, 2010
http://www.bnet.com/blog/ceo/why-you-shouldnt-become-an-entrepreneur/5895?tag=content;drawer-container
How many of us dream of being a big-shot CEO with all the pay and perks that go with the corner office? Or better still, starting and running our own company. Wouldn’t that be sweet?
Well, I hate to burst your dream bubble, but being an entrepreneur isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Sure, if you’re cut out for it, maybe you’ll survive the pressure and overcome the many challenges. But if you’re not, and most of us aren’t, I wouldn’t quit my day job just yet.
Before we get into all those aforementioned challenges, I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least pay homage to the perceived benefits of becoming an entrepreneur:
* Being your own boss and not having to kowtow to anyone;
* Doing what you want, when you want;
* Escape from the stress of corporate life;
* A shorter and more personal feedback loop; and
* The unique fulfillment that comes from building something from the ground up, more or less on your own.
So what’s not to like about that, right? Well, I used the term “perceived benefits” for a very good reason. The truth is that entrepreneurial life is nothing like any of that. In fact, all those benefits are, to a great extent, myths. Let’s take them one at a time.
5 Myths About Becoming an Entrepreneur
1. Being your own boss and not having to kowtow to anyone. There’s no shortage of bosses and people you have to kowtow to when you’re an entrepreneur. Depending on your situation, there are investors, customers, partners, and here’s one that nobody ever anticipates, your spouse. That’s right, once the steady paychecks stop, the spouse becomes all-too-engaged.
2. Doing what you want, when you want. Sure, you may get to keep your own hours, more or less, but even that changes soon enough. If you’re successful, you’ve got to keep up with business, and if you’re not, you’ve got to work that much harder to change that. And since it’s your gig, there’s no fallback position. If you don’t do it, who will?
3. Escape from the stress of corporate life. Here’s a little secret: we make our own workplace stress. In other words, we take it with us wherever we go. That’s what surprised me the most about going it alone. Sure, there are always workplace specific stresses and headaches, but you’re just trading the corporate ones for those of an entrepreneur. They’re different, but not necessarily better or worse.
4. A shorter and more personal feedback loop. Actually, it’s just the opposite. At work you’re presumably getting feedback on a pretty regular basis. There are projects, tasks, and all that good stuff. But the gestation time for a startup business is relatively long. You very quickly come to realize that nothing much matters until the dough starts rolling in, and that could be a very long time. Okay, it is personal, but that’s both good and bad. How well do you handle rejection?
5. The unique fulfillment that comes from building something from the ground up. Yes, it’s different, but honestly, the sense of accomplishment is really no better or worse than what you get from doing the same thing at someone else’s company, whether it’s building a team, developing a product, or servicing customers.
As a wise VC once said, “there are entrepreneurs and there are Entrepreneurs!” Don’t get me wrong. If there’s something burning inside you; something you feel like you’ve got to do or you’ll burst; and you’re resilient, thick skinned, the sort of person who carves his own path; then go for it. You won’t be disappointed. But you’ll also be better off if you keep your expectations grounded somewhere in the realm of reality.
MY THOUGHTS
what this article is saying is that getting into a business may not be for everybody. just like any other position, an entrepreneur has its own list of tasks and therefore has its own list of qualifications. better assess yourself first against those requirements. in other words, if you want to be an entrepreneur, hire yourself first. if you find that you're not qualified, don't give up. training yourself may do the trick.
By Steve Tobak | October 27, 2010
http://www.bnet.com/blog/ceo/why-you-shouldnt-become-an-entrepreneur/5895?tag=content;drawer-container
How many of us dream of being a big-shot CEO with all the pay and perks that go with the corner office? Or better still, starting and running our own company. Wouldn’t that be sweet?
Well, I hate to burst your dream bubble, but being an entrepreneur isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Sure, if you’re cut out for it, maybe you’ll survive the pressure and overcome the many challenges. But if you’re not, and most of us aren’t, I wouldn’t quit my day job just yet.
Before we get into all those aforementioned challenges, I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least pay homage to the perceived benefits of becoming an entrepreneur:
* Being your own boss and not having to kowtow to anyone;
* Doing what you want, when you want;
* Escape from the stress of corporate life;
* A shorter and more personal feedback loop; and
* The unique fulfillment that comes from building something from the ground up, more or less on your own.
So what’s not to like about that, right? Well, I used the term “perceived benefits” for a very good reason. The truth is that entrepreneurial life is nothing like any of that. In fact, all those benefits are, to a great extent, myths. Let’s take them one at a time.
5 Myths About Becoming an Entrepreneur
1. Being your own boss and not having to kowtow to anyone. There’s no shortage of bosses and people you have to kowtow to when you’re an entrepreneur. Depending on your situation, there are investors, customers, partners, and here’s one that nobody ever anticipates, your spouse. That’s right, once the steady paychecks stop, the spouse becomes all-too-engaged.
2. Doing what you want, when you want. Sure, you may get to keep your own hours, more or less, but even that changes soon enough. If you’re successful, you’ve got to keep up with business, and if you’re not, you’ve got to work that much harder to change that. And since it’s your gig, there’s no fallback position. If you don’t do it, who will?
3. Escape from the stress of corporate life. Here’s a little secret: we make our own workplace stress. In other words, we take it with us wherever we go. That’s what surprised me the most about going it alone. Sure, there are always workplace specific stresses and headaches, but you’re just trading the corporate ones for those of an entrepreneur. They’re different, but not necessarily better or worse.
4. A shorter and more personal feedback loop. Actually, it’s just the opposite. At work you’re presumably getting feedback on a pretty regular basis. There are projects, tasks, and all that good stuff. But the gestation time for a startup business is relatively long. You very quickly come to realize that nothing much matters until the dough starts rolling in, and that could be a very long time. Okay, it is personal, but that’s both good and bad. How well do you handle rejection?
5. The unique fulfillment that comes from building something from the ground up. Yes, it’s different, but honestly, the sense of accomplishment is really no better or worse than what you get from doing the same thing at someone else’s company, whether it’s building a team, developing a product, or servicing customers.
As a wise VC once said, “there are entrepreneurs and there are Entrepreneurs!” Don’t get me wrong. If there’s something burning inside you; something you feel like you’ve got to do or you’ll burst; and you’re resilient, thick skinned, the sort of person who carves his own path; then go for it. You won’t be disappointed. But you’ll also be better off if you keep your expectations grounded somewhere in the realm of reality.
MY THOUGHTS
what this article is saying is that getting into a business may not be for everybody. just like any other position, an entrepreneur has its own list of tasks and therefore has its own list of qualifications. better assess yourself first against those requirements. in other words, if you want to be an entrepreneur, hire yourself first. if you find that you're not qualified, don't give up. training yourself may do the trick.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Ways to Spot a $100 Million Idea
5 Ways to Spot a $100 Million Idea
By BNET Contributor | January 18, 2011
By Robert Jordan
This post has been adapted from interviews I conducted in the book, “How They Did It: Billion Dollar Insights from the Heart of America.”
One hundred-million-dollar business ideas are the stuff of legends. Usually we read about them in the context of an entrepreneur who decided to follow his passion, or a founder who just happened to be the rocket scientist of his industry. Most of the time, however, this is not where great ideas or great companies come from. I interviewed 45 company founders, each of whom started, grew, and sold a company for $100 million or more, or took their company public for $300 million or more. Here are some of their secrets.
1. Fill a need, not a passion.
It’s a myth that successful businesspeople got into their field because they cared deeply about it. Success doesn’t follow passion, it follows need. Find something that no one’s doing that somebody should do. That’s what Dick Costolo, founder of Feedburner, did when he saw that publishers had content but no way to distribute it online to subscribers and syndicators. (Google eventually acquired Feedburner for $100 million.)
Don’t get me wrong — passion is critical. But what I’ve come to believe, based on the wisdom from these 45 home-run hitters who created $41 billion from scratch, is that need trumps passion and passion trumps skill. In other words, when you’re fired up with a great mission, you’ll become passionate about it. As for skills? Once you’re jazzed up about the great idea, skills can be acquired or hired.
2. Identify your customer’s big problem.
Where there’s a meaningful problem, there’s a reason to solve it. Cardiologist Donald C. Harrison came up with the idea for his medical device company AtriCure after asking himself how he could make a novel contribution that would help his heart patients in a major way.
One thing I learned after interviewing the founders is that, in most cases, their major innovations were not rocket science. They simply saw something, often very practical, that many other people simply missed. Successful company founders tend to be truly curious, and they don’t accept the status quo as being beyond improvement.
3. Get it from your hands, not your head.
How did a guy with a degree in supercomputing end up in the trucking biz? Internet Explorer billionaire Tim Krauskopf got the idea for a transportation technologies startup, FreightZone, after he learned to drive a semi and began to experience what was involved in the trucking industry.
So often, I discovered that $100 million ideas come from doers, tinkerers, and collaborators. Rock Mackie knew Tomotherapy was a viable concept only after three of his graduate students each made separate and important discoveries. Put together, his team’s ideas resulted in a new and remarkably better CT scanning technology for treating disease.
4. Make it sellable and fixable.
Do you think you have a great idea for a new product? It’s not a great idea until you’ve gotten involved in selling it. Jim Dolan of the Dolan Company, a newspaper and media publisher, advises that selling is the quickest way to find out what’s wrong with your product idea so you can fix it quickly and move on. When Dolan bought a 107-year-old legal newspaper publisher, he quickly figured out how to turn those fine-print bankruptcy notices that other newspapers overlooked into a $100 million product. If you can’t sell it, don’t make it.
Every one of the founders I interviewed had stories about the problems they wouldn’t have discovered had they not listened to customers, colleagues, and investors in the process of pitching their product.
5. Get help developing it.
Serial entrepreneur Mahendra Vora, who’s launched more than a dozen highly successful tech companies, warns would-be entrepreneurs not to be narcissistic about their idea. Instead, develop 60 percent of your vision, put it into the hands of trusted customers, and let them help with the remaining 40 percent of the idea.
Every one of the founders failed at one time or another along their entrepreneurial journey — sometimes spectacularly — before they found that $100 million idea. As a result, they learned humility. Many of them would argue that you can’t really build a successful business without it.
Robert Jordan has been launching and growing companies and helping other entrepreneurs do the same for the past 20 years. He is author of How They Did It: Billion Dollar Insights from the Heart of America (RedFlash Press,), a collection of interviews from 45 leading founders who created $41 billion from scratch. His newest endeavors are RedFlash project implementation team, and interimCEOinterimCFO, a worldwide network of interim, contract, and project executives.
MY THOUGHTS
what? what is that need that will rake in millions? on the other hand, why would i want millions if i cannot be passionate about the means to get it? unless my passion is the millions itself. which is not. isn't it possible to create the need? wouldn't that passion be great enough to come up with an idea that will make people need your passion?
By BNET Contributor | January 18, 2011
By Robert Jordan
This post has been adapted from interviews I conducted in the book, “How They Did It: Billion Dollar Insights from the Heart of America.”
One hundred-million-dollar business ideas are the stuff of legends. Usually we read about them in the context of an entrepreneur who decided to follow his passion, or a founder who just happened to be the rocket scientist of his industry. Most of the time, however, this is not where great ideas or great companies come from. I interviewed 45 company founders, each of whom started, grew, and sold a company for $100 million or more, or took their company public for $300 million or more. Here are some of their secrets.
1. Fill a need, not a passion.
It’s a myth that successful businesspeople got into their field because they cared deeply about it. Success doesn’t follow passion, it follows need. Find something that no one’s doing that somebody should do. That’s what Dick Costolo, founder of Feedburner, did when he saw that publishers had content but no way to distribute it online to subscribers and syndicators. (Google eventually acquired Feedburner for $100 million.)
Don’t get me wrong — passion is critical. But what I’ve come to believe, based on the wisdom from these 45 home-run hitters who created $41 billion from scratch, is that need trumps passion and passion trumps skill. In other words, when you’re fired up with a great mission, you’ll become passionate about it. As for skills? Once you’re jazzed up about the great idea, skills can be acquired or hired.
2. Identify your customer’s big problem.
Where there’s a meaningful problem, there’s a reason to solve it. Cardiologist Donald C. Harrison came up with the idea for his medical device company AtriCure after asking himself how he could make a novel contribution that would help his heart patients in a major way.
One thing I learned after interviewing the founders is that, in most cases, their major innovations were not rocket science. They simply saw something, often very practical, that many other people simply missed. Successful company founders tend to be truly curious, and they don’t accept the status quo as being beyond improvement.
3. Get it from your hands, not your head.
How did a guy with a degree in supercomputing end up in the trucking biz? Internet Explorer billionaire Tim Krauskopf got the idea for a transportation technologies startup, FreightZone, after he learned to drive a semi and began to experience what was involved in the trucking industry.
So often, I discovered that $100 million ideas come from doers, tinkerers, and collaborators. Rock Mackie knew Tomotherapy was a viable concept only after three of his graduate students each made separate and important discoveries. Put together, his team’s ideas resulted in a new and remarkably better CT scanning technology for treating disease.
4. Make it sellable and fixable.
Do you think you have a great idea for a new product? It’s not a great idea until you’ve gotten involved in selling it. Jim Dolan of the Dolan Company, a newspaper and media publisher, advises that selling is the quickest way to find out what’s wrong with your product idea so you can fix it quickly and move on. When Dolan bought a 107-year-old legal newspaper publisher, he quickly figured out how to turn those fine-print bankruptcy notices that other newspapers overlooked into a $100 million product. If you can’t sell it, don’t make it.
Every one of the founders I interviewed had stories about the problems they wouldn’t have discovered had they not listened to customers, colleagues, and investors in the process of pitching their product.
5. Get help developing it.
Serial entrepreneur Mahendra Vora, who’s launched more than a dozen highly successful tech companies, warns would-be entrepreneurs not to be narcissistic about their idea. Instead, develop 60 percent of your vision, put it into the hands of trusted customers, and let them help with the remaining 40 percent of the idea.
Every one of the founders failed at one time or another along their entrepreneurial journey — sometimes spectacularly — before they found that $100 million idea. As a result, they learned humility. Many of them would argue that you can’t really build a successful business without it.
Robert Jordan has been launching and growing companies and helping other entrepreneurs do the same for the past 20 years. He is author of How They Did It: Billion Dollar Insights from the Heart of America (RedFlash Press,), a collection of interviews from 45 leading founders who created $41 billion from scratch. His newest endeavors are RedFlash project implementation team, and interimCEOinterimCFO, a worldwide network of interim, contract, and project executives.
MY THOUGHTS
what? what is that need that will rake in millions? on the other hand, why would i want millions if i cannot be passionate about the means to get it? unless my passion is the millions itself. which is not. isn't it possible to create the need? wouldn't that passion be great enough to come up with an idea that will make people need your passion?
Friday, January 14, 2011
How A Business was Launched in less than a Year
How We Launched a Business in Under a Year
By BNET Contributor | January 5, 2011
By Lee Clifford and Julie Schlosser, founders of Altruette.com
Last winter my co-founder Julie and I left our jobs as editors at Fortune Magazine, knowing little else than that we wanted to do something philanthropic and entrepreneurial together.
Fast forward to this December, and our company Altruette is up and running: We offer a line of jewelry charms, each representing one of 25 different non-profit groups that receive a share of the proceeds. We had terrific online sales this first holiday season, and our line is now available at Fred Segal in Santa Monica. And we’ve spent nearly nothing on marketing and advertising.
While it’s way too early to consider our venture a success, we did succeed already in one regard: We started a business, from idea to execution, in under a year.
And in fact, the question we receive most often is simply, “How?” We’ve culled through our collective experiences and come up with five things that helped us most along the way. Though we were essentially starting from scratch, these lessons would also be useful for entrepreneurs who are adding a new division or going into a new market.
1. Act like you’re in business (even before you are).
When Julie and I left Fortune, I’m not exaggerating when I say we didn’t know for sure what we wanted to do. We had tons of ideas — probably too many — but we had no concrete plan for any of them. Still, we knew how important it was to act like we were already running a business. The Monday after we left our jobs, we started our daily morning conference call, which continued nearly every day for the next year. At the start our husbands must have thought we were crazy, because we’d mostly just brainstorm for hours. But that rigid schedule ensured that no two days slipped by without us at least connecting and fleshing out some of our better ideas (and tabling some of our worst ones).
We also were tough on each other. We had an electronic “To Do” list, which we emailed back and forth and reviewed during our calls. We knew we had to face that list each morning or explain why we hadn’t yet attended to Item X or Y. By the end of month two we had decided on launching a line of charms that would each benefit a different non-profit. By then, our habit of talking each morning, and following through on the previous day’s agenda, was engrained.
2. Think like a reporter.
Our journalistic skills proved extremely useful for helping us solve problems quickly and progress from one business step to the next. Thanks to the Internet, these skills are easy to replicate without spending 10 years working as reporters like we did. Don’t know how to create a package for your product? We simply Googled “packaging expo” and headed to the next one in New York City. After spending an hour at the fair, we had four solid options.
Similarly, when searching for Web designers, placing an ad on Craigslist turned up dozens of great candidates, whom we then interviewed just as we might have interviewed a source back at Fortune. Asking tough questions early on — What penalties will there be if the project isn’t done on time? — helped us weed out unqualified candidates quickly. We ended up going with a boutique company called Mars Design, and they’ve been terrific partners over the past five months.
3. You must give yourself a deadline.
As anyone in journalism knows, without a deadline you’ll never get your story written. Yet so many entrepreneurs seem to take the “we’ll launch when we’re ready” approach. We didn’t know how long it would take us to design and produce charms, but we knew we needed a big, fat, scary deadline staring us in the face. Early on we got wind of an opportunity to give away the charms at a prominent conference in the fall of 2010. We knew there was a chance we wouldn’t be ready, but we signed on anyway. That October date — circled on our calendars — was a driving force for us throughout the summer.
At Fortune we had read that the Marines use a law called the “70% solution.” Meaning you’re never going to be 100% ready, but go forward when you’re 70% ready — that’s enough. Well, that’s about how it turned out for us. Our boxes were still en route from China on a freighter, our custom clasps hadn’t been produced, our website was weeks away from completion, but we improvised and got the charms out to 350 women at the conference. We’re convinced that had we not had that deadline looming over us, there’s no way we would have been up and running for the holidays.
4. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
Yes, you can try to do everything on your own if you have all the time in the world, but most entrepreneurs are in a hurry. Your business idea needs to get to market before competitors pop up or before more established companies get wind of what you’re up to. We sped up the process by turning to experts we know (and some we didn’t) for help. We probably do this way too often but we love getting input and assistance from friends and friends of friends. We’ve sought the advice of PR experts we interacted with at Fortune, parents, friends of our parents, friends of ours, former colleagues, and even emailed a few prominent CEOs we admire. If you don’t know which friend to turn to, post your dilemma or your question on Facebook. Chances are, you’ll get feedback immediately. And don’t feel bad about asking for help. We’ve found that for the most part people typically like to lend a hand.
5. Jump on good leads fast.
If someone gives you a tip about anything (a potential investor, a great manufacturing source or even a future customer), jump on it immediately. When Julie’s cousin told us about a shop at Fred Segal that helped nonprofits, she drove there the next morning to check it out, even though we didn’t yet have a company name, website, or a product. I know a lot of people might still, months later have, “check out that shop my cousin mentioned” on their eventual to-do list. Instead, Zero Minus Plus at Fred Segal became our first retail partner, and hosted our launch party in October.
Lee and Julie met ten years ago as reporters at Fortune Magazine. They sat across the hall from each other and bonded while working together on one of their first assignments at the magazine called Hot & Not. They became the arbiters of what was cool and what wasn’t in the world of tech, business, and pop culture in this biweekly piece.
MY THOUGHTS
now my friend and i have something to think about. she had this business idea. actually, she had registered the business. we've done some pencil pushing and actually spent hours (until 2am) brainstorming. we have it all on paper. it's been months and nothing has happened. and i know why. we do not think we are already in business. therefore, we do not act like we are. we have not set goals. so, we just talk and do something when we have the time. now it's time to shape up.
By BNET Contributor | January 5, 2011
By Lee Clifford and Julie Schlosser, founders of Altruette.com
Last winter my co-founder Julie and I left our jobs as editors at Fortune Magazine, knowing little else than that we wanted to do something philanthropic and entrepreneurial together.
Fast forward to this December, and our company Altruette is up and running: We offer a line of jewelry charms, each representing one of 25 different non-profit groups that receive a share of the proceeds. We had terrific online sales this first holiday season, and our line is now available at Fred Segal in Santa Monica. And we’ve spent nearly nothing on marketing and advertising.
While it’s way too early to consider our venture a success, we did succeed already in one regard: We started a business, from idea to execution, in under a year.
And in fact, the question we receive most often is simply, “How?” We’ve culled through our collective experiences and come up with five things that helped us most along the way. Though we were essentially starting from scratch, these lessons would also be useful for entrepreneurs who are adding a new division or going into a new market.
1. Act like you’re in business (even before you are).
When Julie and I left Fortune, I’m not exaggerating when I say we didn’t know for sure what we wanted to do. We had tons of ideas — probably too many — but we had no concrete plan for any of them. Still, we knew how important it was to act like we were already running a business. The Monday after we left our jobs, we started our daily morning conference call, which continued nearly every day for the next year. At the start our husbands must have thought we were crazy, because we’d mostly just brainstorm for hours. But that rigid schedule ensured that no two days slipped by without us at least connecting and fleshing out some of our better ideas (and tabling some of our worst ones).
We also were tough on each other. We had an electronic “To Do” list, which we emailed back and forth and reviewed during our calls. We knew we had to face that list each morning or explain why we hadn’t yet attended to Item X or Y. By the end of month two we had decided on launching a line of charms that would each benefit a different non-profit. By then, our habit of talking each morning, and following through on the previous day’s agenda, was engrained.
2. Think like a reporter.
Our journalistic skills proved extremely useful for helping us solve problems quickly and progress from one business step to the next. Thanks to the Internet, these skills are easy to replicate without spending 10 years working as reporters like we did. Don’t know how to create a package for your product? We simply Googled “packaging expo” and headed to the next one in New York City. After spending an hour at the fair, we had four solid options.
Similarly, when searching for Web designers, placing an ad on Craigslist turned up dozens of great candidates, whom we then interviewed just as we might have interviewed a source back at Fortune. Asking tough questions early on — What penalties will there be if the project isn’t done on time? — helped us weed out unqualified candidates quickly. We ended up going with a boutique company called Mars Design, and they’ve been terrific partners over the past five months.
3. You must give yourself a deadline.
As anyone in journalism knows, without a deadline you’ll never get your story written. Yet so many entrepreneurs seem to take the “we’ll launch when we’re ready” approach. We didn’t know how long it would take us to design and produce charms, but we knew we needed a big, fat, scary deadline staring us in the face. Early on we got wind of an opportunity to give away the charms at a prominent conference in the fall of 2010. We knew there was a chance we wouldn’t be ready, but we signed on anyway. That October date — circled on our calendars — was a driving force for us throughout the summer.
At Fortune we had read that the Marines use a law called the “70% solution.” Meaning you’re never going to be 100% ready, but go forward when you’re 70% ready — that’s enough. Well, that’s about how it turned out for us. Our boxes were still en route from China on a freighter, our custom clasps hadn’t been produced, our website was weeks away from completion, but we improvised and got the charms out to 350 women at the conference. We’re convinced that had we not had that deadline looming over us, there’s no way we would have been up and running for the holidays.
4. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
Yes, you can try to do everything on your own if you have all the time in the world, but most entrepreneurs are in a hurry. Your business idea needs to get to market before competitors pop up or before more established companies get wind of what you’re up to. We sped up the process by turning to experts we know (and some we didn’t) for help. We probably do this way too often but we love getting input and assistance from friends and friends of friends. We’ve sought the advice of PR experts we interacted with at Fortune, parents, friends of our parents, friends of ours, former colleagues, and even emailed a few prominent CEOs we admire. If you don’t know which friend to turn to, post your dilemma or your question on Facebook. Chances are, you’ll get feedback immediately. And don’t feel bad about asking for help. We’ve found that for the most part people typically like to lend a hand.
5. Jump on good leads fast.
If someone gives you a tip about anything (a potential investor, a great manufacturing source or even a future customer), jump on it immediately. When Julie’s cousin told us about a shop at Fred Segal that helped nonprofits, she drove there the next morning to check it out, even though we didn’t yet have a company name, website, or a product. I know a lot of people might still, months later have, “check out that shop my cousin mentioned” on their eventual to-do list. Instead, Zero Minus Plus at Fred Segal became our first retail partner, and hosted our launch party in October.
Lee and Julie met ten years ago as reporters at Fortune Magazine. They sat across the hall from each other and bonded while working together on one of their first assignments at the magazine called Hot & Not. They became the arbiters of what was cool and what wasn’t in the world of tech, business, and pop culture in this biweekly piece.
MY THOUGHTS
now my friend and i have something to think about. she had this business idea. actually, she had registered the business. we've done some pencil pushing and actually spent hours (until 2am) brainstorming. we have it all on paper. it's been months and nothing has happened. and i know why. we do not think we are already in business. therefore, we do not act like we are. we have not set goals. so, we just talk and do something when we have the time. now it's time to shape up.
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