Quotes for Entrepreneurs Collected in September 2020
Quotes for entrepreneurs collected in September 2020 around a theme of respectful discourse, seeking common ground, and how to disagree constructively and support a working consensus. […]
Be Open Kimono With Partners
Work with trusted partners open kimono: disclose relevant financials, plans, and internal processes to increase synergy. Play a long game. […]
Address Technology, Management, and Executive Concerns To Close Enterprise Deals
To close enterprise deals is a complex undertaking that requires you to orchestrate a mix of conversations and other activities with three kinds of stakeholders: technologists, managers, and executives. […]
9-11 at 19: Looking back at a Unified America
Looking back nineteen years on 9-11 I am struck by how it unified America in way that perhaps only the Moon Landing and Pearl Harbor did. […]
CEOs Who Are Engineers Should Delegate Design Work And Focus On Sales
It’s not uncommon for CEOs who are engineers is to hire someone to focus on sales. But unless they know how to sell their product, this is a mistake. CEOs need to learn the basics of how to sell their product so they can manage the sales function. […]
Quotes for Entrepreneurs collected August 2020
Here are quotes for entrepreneurs I collected in August 2020. My focus this month is on evidence based diagnosis and decision making. […]
Mark Stiving on Value Based Pricing and Price Segmentation
Mark Stiving of Impact Pricing gave a great talk on value based pricing and price segmentation at the Aug-26-2020 Lean Culture Online event. Here is a recording of the event and a copy of his slides. […]
Building, Borrowing, and Keeping Trust
Keeping trust means speaking and acting in ways that support a firm belief in your reliability, truth, ability, and strength. Trust is an essential element to establishing and maintaining a business relationship, either at a personal or organization level. […]
Newsletter August 2020: Sustained Growth
Growth is on everyone’s mind. These four blog posts focus on the ebb and flow of business, the fact that growth is rarely “more of the same” and often requires a change in structure and effective specialization. Sustained growth requires focused execution on the opportunities that are immediately in front [...]
Best Way to Get Leads is Referrals
The best way to get leads is through referrals from satisfied customers or others who are in position to vouch for your product or service. […]
Jeff Allison: An Executive Briefing on Microservices
Jeff Allison offered an executive briefing on microservices at the SF Bay ACM Meetup on Wed-Aug-19. Here is the video, slides, and notes on the talk. […]
A Holistic Approach to Launching a Bootstrapped Startup
We outline the process of launching a bootstrapped startup, from creating an idea, to forming a team, to proving viability. […]
A Practical Introduction to Social Capital for Bootstrappers
This is a practical overview of social capital, an essential concept for bootstrappers despite being hard to measure. I offer suggestions for growing your business network, and enhancing your reputation, explaining why increasing social capital creates value for your startup. […]
Enterprise Sales Requires a Project Management Mindset
The SKMurphy model for enterprise sales uses a project management mindset: define and deliver projects that create value for the customer. Enterprise Sales Requires a Project Management Mindset […]
Basics of Intellectual Property for Bootstrappers
This post explains the basics of intellectual property in practical terms for bootstrappers: trademarks, patents, copyright and trade secrets. An hour or two with an attorney can save you much trouble later on. […]
Q: How Can I Manage the Stress of a Startup?
Tips to cut the stress of a startup: plan for learning, take time to recharge, join a peer support group, don’t compare yourself to others. […]
A Practical Introduction to Intellectual Capital For Bootstrappers
An exploration of the practical meaning of intellectual capital for entrepreneurs, including how to curate your experience and know-how. […]
Interview with Patricia Watkins on Managing Sales In a Downturn
This is a ten minute interview (audio and edited transcript) I did with with Patricia Watkins on July 24-2020. Patrica is an experienced salesperson and sales executive who’s been helping companies drive sales for more than two decades. We discuss some of the challenges you need to manage during a [...]
Your Pricing Model is a Key Lever for Profitability
There is a natural tendency for technical founders to base their pricing model on an engineering oriented value proposition. Looking at the full impact on business can enable higher prices, which in turn means more profit and faster growth. Wojciech Bulaty of Traffic Parrot describes the mental shift Sean Murphy [...]
The Power of a Simple Thank You Note
Email and text messages may have replaced most postal mail, but a handwritten thank you note conveys a feeling of thoughtfulness, appreciation, and care. […]