Archive for January, 2008
January 17th, 2008
If your New Years Resolution is to speak more, you might be wonder where to go. One type of group that is always looking for speakers are local user groups. User groups offer an informal network and forum for the exchange of ideas, tips, and gotchas. With user groups I also include professional group because the members usually are faced with the same set of problems and challenges and are willing to share problems and solutions. They can be a source of direct leads and referrals — from folks who have interacted with you and substantiate your reliability and character — once you have established yourself as a solid member not just a tourist.
Besides speaking, there are many other ways you can contribute. Here are some suggestions. Think about what can you offer?
- Training Workshop
- Write Articles for Newsletter
- Be a Speaker
- Plan Something Fun
- Contribute to Group Forums, Bulletin Boards or Discussion Groups
- Sponsorships & Prizes
It’s OK to visit a group meeting once or twice to see if it’s the right group, but you should make a personal commitment to regularly attend for a year or so if you want to join the group. Trust is built over time and finding small ways to meaningfully contribute will improve your legitimate reputation in the community.
Provided you can be patient, and abide by the community standards and unwritten rules, user groups offer you opportunities for good face to face discussions (often supplemented by an on-line forum or e-mail reflector) and speaking.
January 16th, 2008
The Idea to Revenue Workshop scheduled for January 19 is now sold out and no walk-ins will be accepted.
We had added this in December in response to the overflow demand for the December 6 one and are now considering adding a third. Please contact us and let us know if you are interested or sign up for our workshop notification list (note that per our privacy policy any contact information we collect is only used to help us serve you and is not sold to third parties).
These workshops are a lot of fun but are lot of work for attendees. We actually send a preparation package (”homework”) out about a week in advance to attendees and create an individual on-line workspace with all of the workshop materials for them to work in to complement the paper workbook. We then follow up four times over the three months after the workshop to see how the planning process is progressing. The workshop is highly interactive so we have to limit them to a dozen people to be able to get through all of the exercises in a half day.
The downside to this approach is that many people (us included) seem to decided whether or not to attend an event in the last 24-48 hours (in the case of the Bootstrappers Breakfast events some folks even decide late the night before they will get up early enough (or perhaps just stay up) to be there at 7:30am). So if you would like to come, please let us know and we will accommodate you, but it will have to be after this Saturday.
January 11th, 2008
Last night I attended the monthly PATCA dinner. The featured speaker of the evening was Kevin Dean, a certified Internet marketing consultant, from WSI (We Simplify the Internet). It was an interactive question and answer session in which Kevin covered “Search Engine Optimization Best Practice Basics.” Kevin’s key point was that SEO is easily misunderstood: no one should believe that SEO alone will allow you to close business, it’s just one aspect of your overall marketing mix.
Here are some helpful tips to increase your web presence and make your website more relevant to search engines.
- Content is king. A search engine has never purchased anything, so do not substitute tacky headlines and searchable jargon for pure, unfiltered, original content. Write to your target readers, use good sentences, and get to the point. Try to keep key content/messages to no more than three per webpage, so as not to dilute the keywords for SEO.
- Key phrase selection is important. Phrases that have two or more meanings can increase your competition and confuse searchers. Key phrases are primarily the verbiage picked up in the titles and descriptions. When you choose key phrases, make sure you describe yourself the way people would remember what you do. A good way to figure this out is to ask your customers what they think of your offering.
- Understand how your page structure is read by the search engines. One thing you should be aware of is pictures and images cannot be read by search engines. Be sure to create subtitles or add an alt tag to the picture/image in a way that relates to your business.
There are over thirty components that make up SEO. If you would like to see how relevant your website is visit http://www.websitegrader.com. The free tool diagnoses your website and shows you many of the components you need to improve.
January 8th, 2008
We get asked “Will you sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement?” fairly often, to the point that we are proactive, suggesting that a prospect take a look at our Mutual NDA [PDF] and sign it if it would increase their comfort level.
A Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) allows us to have a deeper and more useful discussion. We will normally have an initial conversation where the prospect can simply decline to answer certain questions but we can have a high level exchange of information.
This surprises some entrepreneurs who are used to Angels and VC’s telling them that they won’t sign NDA (and sometimes being counseled that they were stupid for asking). You can ask a VC them to sign an NDA as a part of their Board of Director seat since they now have a clear fiduciary obligation to the company, but the number of business plans that yield you a VC on your board is perhaps one in 200.
But we are neither VC’s or Angels, aspiring instead to be trusted advisers on strategy and business development. And it seems to me if you are going to provide strategic advice, you have to be willing to sign and honor NDA’s. Since the start of the year we’ve signed three, and will sign two to four a month on an ongoing basis. Obviously it takes more than a piece of paper to inspire trust, but it’s a start.
That being said, I believe that execution is far more important than the idea, and that good execution means that you need to continue to evolve your initial idea.
January 7th, 2008
Following up on my “Silicon Vally Incubators” post in the “First Office” series I wanted to get a tenant’s perspective on the the advantages and drawbacks of locating in a business incubator.
Symphony Consulting is a manufacturing outsourcing, procurement, and supply chain consulting firm that helps original equipment manufacturers and their supply chain partners in three key areas: revenue, assets, profitability. I talked with John Holton, co founder of Symphony Consulting, about his experience of finding his first office. Below are the questions and answers from our short discussion.
Q: What were your three biggest concerns in finding the right office?
A: Our three biggest concerns were location, IT infrastructure, and professional appearance. We wanted something that was easily accessible by major highways and close to our clients (technology companies). IT infrastructure is expensive, so the incubator system was an attractive proposition. We also wanted a place that looked professional. Plug and Play has a professional appearance from the outside and great facilities inside.
Q: What were three things that surprised you after choosing your office space?
A: There are about a hundred companies in this incubator so I appreciate the amount of energy from other entrepreneurs in the building. However, I must admit, the noise from the other people can sometimes be distracting. I knew I would be more productive in a regular office setting but I was surprised by how much more I can focus on tasks important to my business.
Q: What specific benefits does your office leaser offer as a part of their service?
A: Plug and Play Tech Center has really nice conference rooms, cafeteria with good food, and 24 hour coffee. The administrative assistants and staff are helpful. The cubicles come furnished with desks and chairs. Finally, there is plenty of parking.
Q: How do you measure or assess the quality of the facilities you looked at?
A: Basically, we just judged the place by the location, the appearance of the building and its interior, and the amenities it offered.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to comment on or make suggestions to others looking for their first office?
A: I think it was a good investment. It makes the business seem more professional and credible. I also think it makes me more disciplined and productive.
January 1st, 2008
Let’s hope the New Year finds us all healthy, surrounded by loved ones, and living up to our potential.
A quartet of quotes from Mignon McLaughlin to help kick off 2008
The time to begin most things was ten years ago.
Courage can’t see around corners, but goes around them anyway.
Every day of our lives we are on the verge of making those slight changes that would make all of the difference.
Don’t be yourself–be someone a little nicer.
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