Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Dealing with the Emergency
Most companies don’t have to think about what to do if one of their airplanes crashes into the Hudson River. Based on the reaction of US Airways to Flight 1549, this is something that they’d “game -planned” out. The article in Business Week on their reaction to the crash and the “extreme customer service” is a lesson for all of us in how to take care of the customers first, and worry about every else later. Take a look at the article, US Airways: After the ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ and then think about your own company and how it might react if your plant burned down, if your product was involved in a recall, or other more dire situations. Think of the worst things that could happen to your business, and then create a real game plan of how you and the rest of your organization will react to that situation. Keep those plans fresh, and if appropriate, practice them just as US Airways did. And most importantly…if you’re the CEO of the organization…be a leader!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Leading Us Out of This Mess
We’ve been talking on this blog and other places about entrepreneurs being the force that can help lead us out of this economic mess. Today’s Wall Street Journal carried an opinion piece from Tom Hayes and Michael S. Malone on the subject. Hayes is a Silicon Valley executive and Malone is a columnist for ABCNews.com; both are authors as well.
The piece begins with the wonderful title: Entrepreneurs Can Lead Us Out of the Crisis. In particular, it begins with a discussion of the stimulus from the perspective of the entrepreneur:
Missing from this legislation is anything more than token support for the long-proven source of most new jobs and new growth in America: entrepreneurs. These are the people who gave us everything -- from Wal-Mart to iPhones, from microprocessors to Twitter -- that is still strong in our economy. Without entrepreneurs, we will never get out of our current predicament.
This recession is more than a business-as-usual downturn caused by bad lending practices, government incompetence and Wall Street avarice. A greater, underlying dynamic is at work, a fundamental change taking place in the global marketplace. The U.S. economy isn't built for this new world (indeed, neither is any other nation) which is why our problems are racing out of control, while our solutions are proving both slow and inadequate. The danger now is that by merely fixing the old economy we will leave ourselves even more unprepared for the new one. Only entrepreneurs have the flexibility, the freedom and the risk-everything ambition to find the path back to prosperity in a rapidly changing, technology-driven global economy.
The piece then gets into some recommendations on the fix, and while I don’t necessarily agree with everything, it gets at a point that’s critical for the administration in Washington to understand…that corporate America and the banks will not get us out of the recession alone, and that entrepreneurs cannot be the forgotten foot-soldier in this war.
The piece begins with the wonderful title: Entrepreneurs Can Lead Us Out of the Crisis. In particular, it begins with a discussion of the stimulus from the perspective of the entrepreneur:
Missing from this legislation is anything more than token support for the long-proven source of most new jobs and new growth in America: entrepreneurs. These are the people who gave us everything -- from Wal-Mart to iPhones, from microprocessors to Twitter -- that is still strong in our economy. Without entrepreneurs, we will never get out of our current predicament.
This recession is more than a business-as-usual downturn caused by bad lending practices, government incompetence and Wall Street avarice. A greater, underlying dynamic is at work, a fundamental change taking place in the global marketplace. The U.S. economy isn't built for this new world (indeed, neither is any other nation) which is why our problems are racing out of control, while our solutions are proving both slow and inadequate. The danger now is that by merely fixing the old economy we will leave ourselves even more unprepared for the new one. Only entrepreneurs have the flexibility, the freedom and the risk-everything ambition to find the path back to prosperity in a rapidly changing, technology-driven global economy.
The piece then gets into some recommendations on the fix, and while I don’t necessarily agree with everything, it gets at a point that’s critical for the administration in Washington to understand…that corporate America and the banks will not get us out of the recession alone, and that entrepreneurs cannot be the forgotten foot-soldier in this war.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Selling...NFL Style
Selling…as an entrepreneur we’re all salespeople in form or another. As someone who has embraced the notion of sales, I like to see how people in various fields go about the task of selling whatever product it is that they sell. But rarely do we get the chance to see how the professional agents go about the task of selling three hundred pound football players to teams in the NFL. Today, thanks to ESPN’s Paul Kuharsky, we can see the PDF that agent Ralph Cindrich has prepared on behalf of his client, Jeff Saturday, a center for the Indianapolis Colts. And you thought you had it tough selling your product. Take a look at the salesmanship that’s involved in extracting the highest value for a veteran center and think about how you might be able to use similar tactics in selling your product.
Do You Want to Be an Entrepreneur?
Thanks to Allen Kupetz, the author of The Future of Less for pointing out the article in today’s Wall Street Journal, So You Want to be An Entrepreneur by Kelly Spors.
I particularly liked a couple of the points that Kelly made, the first of which was the notion of getting your significant other on board. I would broaden it for older entrepreneurs to make sure their kids are also on the same page, because so much of what the entrepreneur will do will impact the entire family. The other point that I liked was the notion of how persuasive and well-spoken are you. As an entrepreneur, you have to be the CSO…the Chief Sales Officer of your company. You are the one who will be out there telling potential customers about your business; after all there is no one better to talk about your product or service than you. I would change her last section, “Do You Have a Business Partner” to “Are You Part of a Team,” because now more than ever it’s important to be on a team to launch a venture. Hillary Clinton said “It Takes a Village” to raise a child, well I think it takes a team to birth a new company.
I particularly liked a couple of the points that Kelly made, the first of which was the notion of getting your significant other on board. I would broaden it for older entrepreneurs to make sure their kids are also on the same page, because so much of what the entrepreneur will do will impact the entire family. The other point that I liked was the notion of how persuasive and well-spoken are you. As an entrepreneur, you have to be the CSO…the Chief Sales Officer of your company. You are the one who will be out there telling potential customers about your business; after all there is no one better to talk about your product or service than you. I would change her last section, “Do You Have a Business Partner” to “Are You Part of a Team,” because now more than ever it’s important to be on a team to launch a venture. Hillary Clinton said “It Takes a Village” to raise a child, well I think it takes a team to birth a new company.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Rick Santelli Part Two
After placing the post on CNBC’s Rick Santelli, I kept looking around the internet and found that his rant really hit a nerve; both those that saw him as a saint and those who saw him as the guy with the pitchfork. The New York Times reported on some of the pros and cons to his comments, but as an entrepreneur his remarks really hit home for me. In my businesses, I always tried to manage prudently, not only for the sake of my own family, but also for the sake of my employee’s families. Politics aside, what troubles me most about the most recent mortgage bailout from the Obama administration, is that they’re rewarding folks who were doing the opposite of what entrepreneurs try to do…we try to manage the risks that we take. Sometimes entrepreneurs are wrongly seen as risk-takers. It’s my opinion that we’re not that at all…rather we try and see the risk and then manage it effectively for the sake of our company, our employees, and our stakeholders.
As I look at the people who risked everything they had by buying multiple homes so they could “flip” them, when I look at the folks who over mortgaged themselves by buying homes far too expensive, or worse yet, as I look at those who remortgaged their homes and pulled money out for vacations, cars or RVs…and now those of us who managed our businesses and our investments prudently will be responsible for bailing them out? Make no mistake, when we say the government is going to bail out these mortgage mess-holders, in fact we’re the ones who are going to be doing the bailing out. And like Rick Santelli…I’m not at all happy about doing it.
As I look at the people who risked everything they had by buying multiple homes so they could “flip” them, when I look at the folks who over mortgaged themselves by buying homes far too expensive, or worse yet, as I look at those who remortgaged their homes and pulled money out for vacations, cars or RVs…and now those of us who managed our businesses and our investments prudently will be responsible for bailing them out? Make no mistake, when we say the government is going to bail out these mortgage mess-holders, in fact we’re the ones who are going to be doing the bailing out. And like Rick Santelli…I’m not at all happy about doing it.
Rick Santelli for the US Senate!
I walked into the Ballentine Investment Institute inside the Whitman School of Business today, and the head of our E-Club, Bob Smith asked me if I’d seen CNBC's Rick Santelli’s call for a new version of the Boston Tea Party.
As reported in The Atlantic, and other places, Santelli said, “We're thinking of having a Chicago Tea Party in July. All you capitalists that wanna show up to Lake Michigan, I'm organizing. We're gonna be dumping in some derivative securities, what do you think about that?"
Since Rick was reporting from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, perhaps he could be the next U.S. Senator from the troubled state of Illinois?
As reported in The Atlantic, and other places, Santelli said, “We're thinking of having a Chicago Tea Party in July. All you capitalists that wanna show up to Lake Michigan, I'm organizing. We're gonna be dumping in some derivative securities, what do you think about that?"
Since Rick was reporting from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, perhaps he could be the next U.S. Senator from the troubled state of Illinois?
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
A Feel-Good Story in Athletics
Occasionally, I’ll spot a story on the internet that while it has nothing to do with entrepreneurship, is one that needs to be widely read. Here is such a story…from ESPN.com… that will make you feel good about kids who are out there playing sports and who know how to do the right thing. Perhaps some of our professional athletes could learn a thing or two from these high school students who represent the best of student athletics.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Tech Deals
No matter what the economy, it seems like the world of tech always moves forward. Take a look at an item from today’s Wall Street Journal and the Dow Jones VentureWire on some interesting VC funded deals.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Is Anybody Listening?
One of the common themes I’ve been hearing lately from entrepreneurs is that we’re being ignored by Washington. A couple of newspapers today, the Orlando Sentinel and the New York Times, in separate stories, picked up on that same issue. First from Sara Clarke in the Sentinel:
While the nation's giant automakers take federal aid and financial behemoths apply for funds from the government's Troubled Assets Relief Program, the nation's small companies have had a lot of trouble getting even conventional loans.The economic-stimulus plan, which President Barack Obama is expected to sign Tuesday, could provide much-needed relief. But the impact of the $787 billion plan remains to be seen -- previous efforts to loosen small-business credit and spur the economy have had little effect.
More than 380 banks nationwide have already received federal funds from the controversial TARP fund, which has paid out more than $350 billion so far in an effort to counter the financial crisis and thaw the credit freeze. Among the payouts: $45 billion each to Bank of America and Citigroup, $40 billion to AIG, and $25 billion each to JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo.Those numbers underscore the yawning divide between Wall Street and Main Street, where businesses are usually looking for loans to buy "a truck and a lawn mower."Such small loans are hard to come by these days, even for well-established businesses, said Jan Mangos, an Orlando-based counselor with SCORE, a nonprofit group that offers free help to small businesses. "There is a lot of bad feeling out there," Mangos said, "particularly when you get people who have had a track record of success."
And then from Mickey Meese in the New York Times:
The $819 billion bill passed by the House last week and a similar measure under consideration in the Senate simply do not go far enough to bolster the small-business sector, owners and those who lobby on their behalf say. “Small businesses are a job engine for the economy,” said David French, vice president for government relations at the International Franchise Association. “Unfortunately,” he said, the stimulus package offers “a thimble-full of fuel for this engine.”
By his estimation, only 0.05 percent of the House bill is dedicated to small-business lending programs, and the Senate version is only slightly better. “It’s not a lot of money relative to the scale of the credit market problems,” Mr. French said.
While President Obama wants Congress to move quickly, Karen Kerrigan, president of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, said more time should be spent examining other ideas. “I think more than expediency,” she said, “it has to be a good bill.”
“If small-business owners are to shoulder the responsibility for getting our nation back on sound economic footing,” Ms. Kerrigan said, “they need something from this package that will encourage them to invest, hire and prepare for growth.”
While the nation's giant automakers take federal aid and financial behemoths apply for funds from the government's Troubled Assets Relief Program, the nation's small companies have had a lot of trouble getting even conventional loans.The economic-stimulus plan, which President Barack Obama is expected to sign Tuesday, could provide much-needed relief. But the impact of the $787 billion plan remains to be seen -- previous efforts to loosen small-business credit and spur the economy have had little effect.
More than 380 banks nationwide have already received federal funds from the controversial TARP fund, which has paid out more than $350 billion so far in an effort to counter the financial crisis and thaw the credit freeze. Among the payouts: $45 billion each to Bank of America and Citigroup, $40 billion to AIG, and $25 billion each to JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo.Those numbers underscore the yawning divide between Wall Street and Main Street, where businesses are usually looking for loans to buy "a truck and a lawn mower."Such small loans are hard to come by these days, even for well-established businesses, said Jan Mangos, an Orlando-based counselor with SCORE, a nonprofit group that offers free help to small businesses. "There is a lot of bad feeling out there," Mangos said, "particularly when you get people who have had a track record of success."
And then from Mickey Meese in the New York Times:
The $819 billion bill passed by the House last week and a similar measure under consideration in the Senate simply do not go far enough to bolster the small-business sector, owners and those who lobby on their behalf say. “Small businesses are a job engine for the economy,” said David French, vice president for government relations at the International Franchise Association. “Unfortunately,” he said, the stimulus package offers “a thimble-full of fuel for this engine.”
By his estimation, only 0.05 percent of the House bill is dedicated to small-business lending programs, and the Senate version is only slightly better. “It’s not a lot of money relative to the scale of the credit market problems,” Mr. French said.
While President Obama wants Congress to move quickly, Karen Kerrigan, president of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, said more time should be spent examining other ideas. “I think more than expediency,” she said, “it has to be a good bill.”
“If small-business owners are to shoulder the responsibility for getting our nation back on sound economic footing,” Ms. Kerrigan said, “they need something from this package that will encourage them to invest, hire and prepare for growth.”
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Seed Stage Funding
With my move to Syracuse University now in full court-press mode (we are moving into the house tomorrow), while taking a brief coffee break and catching up on some reading, I came across something that might be of help to entrepreneurs going through the seed stage funding process. I ran across it at the blog; Ask the VC, these documents were created by TechStars. Take a look at an example Term Sheet, Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, and Subscription Agreement…all of which give the entrepreneur involved in funding their business an idea of what doc’s will be sent their way.
Secrets of Netflix Success
In the current issue of Fortune (February 2), take a look at the short article, The Movie Man which discusses the success of Netflix. I also liked the accompanying sidebar on Reed Hastings and the Four Secrets of His Success. Here are his keys with my parenthetical comments:
1. Target a specific niche (which includes being sure that there is a specific pain in the marketplace…and make sure that the pain is real and substantial)
2. Stay flexible (while your focus has to be the short term, you also have to think of the long term viability of your enterprise. Is your product or service a one-hit wonder that will be overtaken by the marketplace?)
3. Never underestimate the competition (or put another way, there is always competition even when you are the first in the marketplace because consumers always have other places to spend their money)
4. There are no shortcuts (Amen!)
1. Target a specific niche (which includes being sure that there is a specific pain in the marketplace…and make sure that the pain is real and substantial)
2. Stay flexible (while your focus has to be the short term, you also have to think of the long term viability of your enterprise. Is your product or service a one-hit wonder that will be overtaken by the marketplace?)
3. Never underestimate the competition (or put another way, there is always competition even when you are the first in the marketplace because consumers always have other places to spend their money)
4. There are no shortcuts (Amen!)
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
The Entrepreneur on Campus is Moving North
Effective February 16, I’ll be writing this from a little further north… as I’ve been named the Executive Director of the Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University. While it’s very hard to leave my good friends at the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College and throughout Orlando, I’m excited about taking on this new challenge. I’m especially excited about meeting lots of students at SU from throughout the school who are interested in entrepreneurship as well as entrepreneurs from the Central New York area.
In the meantime, while I figure out where in the world we got all this stuff that we’re now taking to New York, you need to be thinking of ways to keep your business focused on the thing that’s most important to us…and that’s our customers. As entrepreneurs, customers are the king now and in this incredibly difficult economic environment, we need to be sure that our competitors aren’t stealing them from us. Take a look at all the ways that we touch our customers; from the parking lot to the website to what they hear when they call us and see how we can make it easier for our customers to deal with us. Sometimes we get so caught up in making sure our policies and procedures are in place, that we forget that sometimes people actually want to buy stuff from us. In order to be sure that we are handling customers the way we should, ask a couple of your friends who are not customers, to “shop” you and make an effort to get information on your products. Have them go all the way through the purchase process and then have them report back to you on what they experienced. Listen to them (without getting mad) and then take action to correct whatever problems they discovered.
In the meantime, while I figure out where in the world we got all this stuff that we’re now taking to New York, you need to be thinking of ways to keep your business focused on the thing that’s most important to us…and that’s our customers. As entrepreneurs, customers are the king now and in this incredibly difficult economic environment, we need to be sure that our competitors aren’t stealing them from us. Take a look at all the ways that we touch our customers; from the parking lot to the website to what they hear when they call us and see how we can make it easier for our customers to deal with us. Sometimes we get so caught up in making sure our policies and procedures are in place, that we forget that sometimes people actually want to buy stuff from us. In order to be sure that we are handling customers the way we should, ask a couple of your friends who are not customers, to “shop” you and make an effort to get information on your products. Have them go all the way through the purchase process and then have them report back to you on what they experienced. Listen to them (without getting mad) and then take action to correct whatever problems they discovered.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)