A friend asked me a few questions about when and how to make the jump from a 9 to 5, to pursue an entrepreneurial idea.  I decided to deliver the answer to them as a videocast.  Let me know what you think.



What other topics would you have covered?

How should your Social Media strategy fit into your Marketing?

This is the first of a seven segment series.  I thought it was very good.  It will help you think about what you need to do prior to implementing your social media strategy.



Let me know how you would build on his ideas to produce more sales.  Conversion is key.

The Entrepreneurial Process: Building a Foundation for Success

How many times have you had what you thought was a great idea that would revolutionize an industry or simply bring ease and enjoyment to your's as well as your neighbor's lives, but were stopped short because you lacked the business experience or know how to develop the idea or build the product or service? Coming up with the idea that is going to change your life is challenging enough. But once you have done that, and have claimed your entrepreneurial spirit, how do you move from having a concept in your head to actually implementing the idea?  How should you develop your idea?   These are questions that asked by people everyday as they try to move through the entrepreneurial process to develop a successful business.

Moving from idea formulation to idea implementation creates a new set of challenges for the entrepreneur that can determine the success or failure of a project.  However, through building a foundation, which should include setting aside time to think through your vision, planning how to incorporate great people into your project and capacity building, you can overcome these challenges.  Such steps can help in developing the proper foundation of systems, procedures and people which will help a "would be" entrepreneur from succumbing to the pain and fear described by noted author Michael Gerber, in his book The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It that sometimes results from an "entrepreneurial seizure".  Over time your foundation will expand to include a well developed business plan, which will not only address the inner workings of your business, but also a marketing strategy of the final good or service.  For many, these can be formidable challenges; however, they are not insurmountable. Through the next couple of posts, I will explore a series of steps you can take to begin building a foundation that can serve you on a path to finding your inner entrepreneur.    

Work to Create Your Own Opportunity - the Path to Being an Entrepreneur

                                                                                                                           Picture by Flckr JAM343

To be a successful entrepreneur may require you to put forth extra effort.  Opportunities for change and success do not come by chance.  To gain them requires constant, persistent effort.   It has been said that “luck” occurs when preparation meets opportunity.  If this is true, then there is no such thing as luck.  Opportunities come as a result of preparation.

While Washington, D.C.-based real estate developer, Adrian Washington, didn't start his career with a well-defined plan (he let his interest lead him), success came to him through opportunities he worked to create.  Mr. Washington did his homework.  He worked diligently to build his knowledge base and learn his trade.  He worked to develop his network, with the understanding that business opportunities are really about connecting with people.  He also built his reputation by completing a series of successful projects that spoke to his capabilities and increased his presence in his profession.  With these accomplishments, opportunities came.

Having done his homework and put in the time, Mr. Washington was prepared.  As a result, he was able to take advantage of the opportunities that came his way.  According to Mr. Washington, preparation is key.  It requires investing time and effort, while constantly seeking ways to increase your knowledge and understanding of your chosen field.  To achieve success as an entrepreneur requires that you focus not solely on immediate gains, but also on future success.  A successful entrepreneur understands the benefits of delayed gratification.   As a developer, Mr. Washington enjoys a unique and gratifying position.  He has built a company that yields monetary gains for its employees and shareholders.  At the same time, however, he does not do it by tearing down communities or displacing its residents.  Rather, he builds communities and in many ways re-vitalizes them by hiring people in the neighborhoods he seeks to build.  By doing so, Mr. Washington helps to fundamentally improve the communities around him.  He has enjoyed this rewarding challenge and is excited that he has been presented with such an extraordinary opportunity.  However, it wasn’t chance or luck that brought this opportunity to him, it was his preparation that enabled him to capitalize on the opportunity and make it a reality.

What do you first do when you learn to swim? You make mistakes, do you not? And what happens? You make other mistakes, and when you have made all the mistakes you possibly can without drowning - and some of them many times over - what do you find? That you can swim? Well - life is just the same as learning to swim! Do not be afraid of making mistakes, for there is no other way of learning how to live! –Alfred Adler

On-going Challenge: Converting Potential Customers into New Customers

The slides above attempt to share some insights into the challenging task of getting the customer for your service or product over the "Goal Line", through the use of an on-line system.  I found the insights shared to be helpful and will try to put them into practice with HIA Toys.

What key insights have you gained on the process of conversion?

Blogging: Building a Conversation around your Important Ideas.

There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in. -- Graham Greene


Do I need to pay $1,000.00 to start a blog?....Short Answer: No!

This is a question I received from a neighbor when we were chatting about a project he has to refine some of his current writing into a book. It highlights some of the disconnect in the transfer of “New Media tools (blogs, microblogs, e-commerce sites, etc. ) to regular people who might be able to utilize the tools for a project they are working on.  It also highlights the problem that there are individuals who hold themselves out to to be an expert in using these tools, but can't back it up.  (I didn't make it up -- someone actually told a 65+ year old man, who wanted to start a writing project, that he needed to pay him $1,000.00 before he could get going).

 A number of people and organizations make claims about how they can be helpful to individuals with bringing an idea alive, but they can’t deliver. I recommend trying to get a basic roadmap in place before seeking assistance, to ensure that we are not taken advantage of during the process. While there is a lot of free information “out there”, I have been extremely lucky to find an internet strategist Lethia Owens, who has been extremely helpful to me.

In this instance, I played that role for my neighbor and shared  few fundamentals on bringing his blog along (He gets the added benefit of me recently attending the Netsol Social Commerce Boot Camp on Saturday and Roots Camp).

Reasons why you might use a blog:

• A blog is a free resource to use to share ideas and develop conversations around them.
• In setting up a blog you have numerous options, but you might try WordPress or Blogger (Blogging applications)to start along with a corresponding Twitter Account (micro blog application)
• Understanding your Market. A blog is useful to see if there is any audience for your broader project.
• Networking. A blog may lead to connecting you to people or organizations who your ideas are helpful and could lead to getting your ideas off of the ground.

I was able to assist Fitz in establishing a blog using Blogger, but that’s the easy part and it only took him 30 minutes to get going. But in order to achieve maximum success, he will need to do the following:

• Establish goals for this medium (know what you want your final outcome to become).
• Build the Community (Engage and Interact with the Community to Gain Support)
• Give them GOOD content
• Get them involved (Give your community actions to do on your behalf)
• Get them Investing (time, money, action)
• Share the Success with the community (Goals accomplished)

I explained to him that while he’s just starting to get involved in Social Media. He will be part of a larger effort that is transforming how the world does business and exchanges ideas. Some have coined the term “Social Commerce”.

The Components of Social Commerce are:

• Social Shopping
• Ratings and Reviews (core)
• Recommendations & Referrals
• Forums & Communities
• Social Media
• Social advertising

Social media isn’t the end-all-be-all, but it offers marketers unparalleled opportunity to participate in relevant ways. It also provides a launchpad for other marketing tactics. Social media is not an island. It’s a high-power engine on the larger marketing ship.  ---Matt Dickman