New Year’s Eve is always a time for optimism. I hope to learn from my experiences in 2015 and to make new mistakes in 2016 instead of repeating the old ones. I hope to build on the skills I nurtured and the insights I gained this year.
New Year’s Eve 2015 Read More »
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Quotes For Entrepreneurs December 2015 Read More »
Ten rules of thumb from”101 Things I Learned in Engineering School” by John Kuprenas and Matthew Frederick that I think entrepreneurs will find particularly useful. It’s a great book full of very clear illustrations and examples for most of its 101 two-page chapters. I purchased it as a Christmas gift for my sons and could not
Ten Rules of Thumb from “101 Things I Learned in Engineering School” Read More »
Christmas afternoon finds me reading “Courtesy.” It’s an essay by Ian MacLaren (pen name for Scottish author and theologian John Watson) that offers a recipe for keeping the spirit of Christmas alive in daily life. Here are some excerpts I found useful, the last finds me still clearly in the “before picture.”
Courtesy Keeps The Spirit Of Christmas Alive Read More »
No man is a failure who has friends. Clarence’s parting observation to George Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life” is good advice for all of us on Christmas Eve. Watching “It’s A Wonderful Life” has become a Christmas tradition in our family in recent years: it’s one of the few black and white movies my boys will watch.
No Man is a Failure Who Has Friends Read More »
Moore’s Law and the rise of cloud computing models that enable collaboration in networks of up to hundreds of thousands of individual CPUs on a single algorithm mean that old algorithms can find new applications and address much larger problems. I believe that this will have as profound an impact on knowledge work over the
Moore’s Law Enables New Uses For Old Algorithms Read More »
Another time capsule post: this one is an archive of a profile I had on the UnderTheOak wiki in the early 2000s that was maintained by Matt Simpson (wiki now offline).
Time Capsule: SKMurphy Profile at UnderTheOak Read More »
Scott Robertson had a great post up last month on how to make content marketing work: be relevant, be different, be real, be useful, and be consistent. Here are some excerpts along with additional thoughts and commentary.
Scott Robertson Offers Five Tips on Content Marketing Read More »
Curiosity, experimentation and action are essential to moving your business forward. I have selected a few aphorisms by Beston Jack Abrams from his self-published third volume of “Abramisms” on these and related topics that I think are of use to entrepreneurs.
Beston Jack Abrams on Curiosity, Experimentation and Action Read More »
Only ask your customers for referrals, don’t jump the gun and ask prospects to recommend you, especially if they have not even had a chance to use your product.
Only Ask Customers For Referrals Read More »
Two critical aspects of any plan are risk identification and assessment, but if a team stops there and does not modify the plan to mitigate as much of the risk as possible then it’s pointless. Risk mitigation is what allows you to build a sustainable and enduring business.
Risk Mitigation: If You Predict Rain Build an Ark Read More »
You can follow @skmurphy to get these quotes for entrepreneurs hot off the mojo wire or wait until they are collected in a blog post at the end of each month. Enter your E-mail address if you would like to have new blog posts sent to you.
Quotes For Entrepreneurs–November 2015 Read More »
Our November 2015 newsletter highlights referrals, which we define as an introduction inspired by your ability to help the prospect with a problem or need.
Newsletter: Referrals / Thanksgiving Read More »
A recap of the Bootstrappers Potluck Thanksgiving 2015, and an essay by Rich Mullings that we appreciate Thanksgiving like a rainbow, knowing it won’t last
Thanksgiving 2015: Bootstrappers Potluck and Rainbow Shiny Read More »
As I grow older I have gained a full appreciation for Laurie Anderson’s observation: “When my father died it was like a whole library burned down.” It’s now 97 months since my father’s death from a heart attack on October 23, 2007 and I still feel the loss.
Surviving the holidays can be hard for entrepreneurs. If you visit family or see old friends few if any may understand what you are doing or going through. You may face a variety of suggestions that essentially treat you as unemployed–strictly speaking it’s an accurate assessment for many early stage bootstrappers–and possibly unemployable–again, strictly speaking, it’s
Tips For Entrepreneurs On Surviving The Holidays Read More »
Unreasonable entrepreneur is almost redundant. By definition entrepreneurs want to change the status quo, offering better products and services as substitutes for established and successful ones. This often requires an unreasonable amount of effort and persistence, sometimes to the point of stubbornness, in the face of not only opposition but also a concentrated lack of
The Unreasonable Entrepreneur Read More »
Customer discovery interviews are key to discerning if a market exists for a product or service. Honing your discovery skills is essential for scaling.
Newsletter: Customer Discovery Interviews Read More »
I started this blog in October of 2006–3 years after incorporating SKMurphy, Inc. in August of 2003–so this month represents the start of my tenth year of blogging. In the last nine years I have published 1552 posts, which total 871,535 words of writing or the rough equivalent of a dozen novels. What follows are some
Lessons Learned From 9 Years Of Blogging Read More »
Michael J. Riordan is a certified public accountant who has been in business in San Jose for more than 35 years. He gave a crisp briefing on “Bootstrapping a Service Business” at the Thursday Oct 8 PATCA meeting. He gave a great set of tips, here are my notes:
8 Tips For Bootstrapping A Service Business Read More »
