How to Start a Startup March 2005 (This essay is derived from a talk at the Harvard Computer Society.) You need three things to create a successful startup: to start with good people, to make something customers actually want, and to spend as little money as possible. Most startups that fail do it because they fail at one of these. A startup that does all three will probably succeed. And that's kind of exciting, when you think about it, because all three are doable. If there is one message I'd like to get across about startups, that's it. The Idea In particular, you don't need a brilliant idea to start a startup around. Google's plan, for example, was simply to create a search site that didn't suck. There are plenty of other areas that are just as backward as search was before Google. For example, dating sites currently suck far worse than search did before Google. An idea for a startup, however, is only a beginning. What matters is not ideas, but the people who have them. People What do I mean by good people?
Key Concept: community In the race to social media influence, brands, professionals, and organisations have been tripping over themselves to ‘get social’. It is now fairly uncommon to find a brand that does not have at least one social media profile or what I like to call branded social space. The trouble with some branded social spaces is that, in many cases, they are branded spaces. Back in the day, before social media was the social media we see today, virtual communities facilitated the two-way interaction. The communities were run by the community members and grew from their participation. To me, social media or branded social spaces are the next evolution of the virtual community. To develop an effective social media strategy, it would be recommended to think about the reason for doing so. The Reason for Community To build a successful strategy I would recommend considering: Purpose Think about the specific focus of communication and interaction among the community members. Platform and Place Population
Jonge Bazen - Jong leidinggeven in de praktijk 7 Steps to a Simple Social Media Strategy Social media can transform your business from foundering to flourishing. Here's how to devise a strategy. March 27, 2012 If you do a search on social media, social media strategy or social media for small biz, you'll get millions of results. 14,753,645 to be exact. Okay, just kidding. What's not a joke is how important and how overwhelming social media can be for small business. What should our profile say? A strategy—a simple, actionable strategy—tells you what to do, how to do it, and when to do it for maximum results, as best fits your company. 1. Don't get lost in the details here; use the demographic research you've already done, or just answer each question as quickly as you can from what you already know or with a minimal amount of research. Who are you trying to reach? 2. In order to create a message that matters to your customers, you need to talk about what they care about: their problems, their pain points. What are your customers' pain points/problems? 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Building a Business Simple Steps to Small Business Savings By Carter McNamara on April 30, 2013 (Guest post from Brittany Evans) It’s amazing how much small purchases can add up when they are being done by an office. That’s because of the volumes involved. For example, a house may have five or 10 lamps inside, but an office can easily have 50-100 bulbs running during operating hours. Therefore, it’s important to [...] [ Read More → ] Paying Taxes Quarterly Saves Time By Tove Rasmussen on September 29, 2011 – By Guest Writer, Bert Doerhoff, CPA By paying quarterly you can ease your yearly accounting process with less calculations, allowing you to devote more time to the important day-to-day aspects of your small business. [ Read More → ] Gain Insight – Get a Board By Tove Rasmussen on August 9, 2011 Business owners often find it a challenge to lift their heads and view the long term. [ Read More → ] Top 5 Tips on Building an Excellent Team By Tove Rasmussen on August 2, 2011 [ Read More → ] [ Read More → ]
How-To: Start a Social Media Strategy We all have problems. And while we can spend our Mondays complaining about the snow, or the lack of event attendance or the disgruntled members, sometimes it’s simply more therapeutic to poke fun at them (our problems, not our members). That’s why we started the Monday Assoc Life Funnies; we’re taking the problems we see every day, and turning them into hilarious animated jokes. The first Assoc Life is about social media strategies. But is it really the case? No. You need a plan, or better, a strategy. A good social networking strategy will identify your overall objectives, and keep you on track to reaching them successfully. Why: Why are you doing this? These are just some of the factors that will have an impact on how successful you are at your social media efforts. If you haven’t already, make 2012 the year that you build your social media strategy. Want to see your problems animated?
Business Planning Mindfulness as a Competitive Strategy By Rolfe Larson on February 18, 2014 One emerging trend we’re noticing in our work is the number of companies using meditation and mindfulness practices to increase individual and group productivity, improve well-being and health, and reduce stress in the business environment. Moreover, recent neuroscience research demonstrates at the brain’s molecular level that meditation and mindfulness, even if practiced for just 20 [...] [ Read More → ] Caves and Campfires… By Rolfe Larson on November 1, 2013 OK, you know this. [ Read More → ] Crowd Financing Debuted Last Week (sort of) By Rolfe Larson on October 7, 2013 First the good news: Starting Sept 30, US federal law allows small startup companies to raise equity on the Internet, without the expensive barrier to register the shares for public trading with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). [ Read More → ] Intrapreneurial Business Plans By Rolfe Larson on September 9, 2013 [ Read More → ] [ Read More → ]
lacking: Social strategist Strategic Planning My Concern About the Use of Strategic Planning “Templates” By Carter McNamara on March 18, 2014 It seems that the use of “templates” in strategic planning is on the rise. People want a simple and straightforward way to get the Strategic Plan written and finished. They want a “roadmap” that applies to every organization with everyone all the time and everywhere. I’m seeing them mentioned more often lately for strategic planning, [...] [ Read More → ] Your (Leadership) Role in Establishing Goals By Michael Wilkinson on November 21, 2013 As a leader in your organization, part of your role during strategic planning is to help establish goals that provide a foundation for the rest of the plan. [ Read More → ] Painting the Picture – A Sample Visioning Exercise By Michael Wilkinson on October 1, 2013 To help determine your organization’s goals, utilize a visualization exercise that guides the team through a scenario ten or more years into the future. [ Read More → ] Why Do You Need a Plan?
Promoting SME internationalization In a globalised world, SMEs need to be able to confront an increasing competition from developed and emerging economies and to plug into the new market opportunities these countries will provide. There is a direct link between internationalization and increased SMEs performance. International activities reinforce growth, enhance competitiveness and support the long term sustainability of companies. Yet European SMEs still depend largely on their domestic markets despite the opportunities brought by the enlarged single market and by globalization at large. SMEs play a pivotal role in the EU economic developments and the Commission gives utmost importance to its prosperity. In line with principle ten of the Small Business Act, EU business centres helping the EU SMEs to enter third-country markets were established in India and China. Study on Support Services for SMEs in International Business 2013 At present, relatively few SMEs in the EU are doing business beyond Europe. Survey results:
Foolproof Web Design | Technology > Software Services & Applications from AllBusiness You don't have to be a master programmer or have a computer science background to build great-looking Web pages. In fact, the most important consideration is your users. If you can build Web pages that are attractive, easy to navigate and provide value, your users will return again and again. Designing Web Pages The natural tendency of beginning designers is to clutter their pages with too much text and too many graphics. One of the benefits of the Web is that, unlike in print, there are no space constraints. Another way to improve the look and feel of your Web pages is to "borrow" concepts from professional designers. All Web browsers allow you to view the source code of any Web page. If you're still daunted by the prospect of building your site from scratch, you can shop around for consultants who can help you. Testing Your Site Implementing simple user testing can make your site immeasurably better. Be sure to test your site on all major browsers. Quality Control
5 Ways You Are Turning Your Customers Away This article by VerticalResponse CEO and founder Janine Popick originally appeared on Inc.com. When it comes to running our companies, we all get into a rut from time to time. One big rut is not having enough time in the day to really assess all of the ways our customers are interacting with us, whether it’s digital or good old face-to-face. Take a look at your business and see if any of these pitfalls could be turning your customers away: Employee Chatter How many times have you walked into a store and you hear employees talking to each other about their shifts, the fact that they hate working today, or how they can’t wait to get off work to go clubbing tonight? Phone Tree Hell Have you ever called your own business phone number to see what the customer experience is like? Mobile Mania Have you ever had to wait for someone to get off his/her mobile device before helping you? Inconsistencies Welcome! Have you ever walked into an office building and had no one pay attention to you?
Facebook Debuts Facebook For Business - Resources Businesses, especially those led by tech-savvy entrepreneurs, have long been using Facebook to promote their brands and interact with customers. But now the social-networking giant is formalizing the relationship with the introduction of Facebook for Business. Unveiled Tuesday, Facebook for Business is a webpage that gives directions on everything from how to create a profile to how to communicate effectively with customers. The Facebook page seems to target small businesses especially, since they don't have the marketing budgets to outsource the social-media function. It also advises companies to make sure that they have a “consistent voice for your page, so your fans know what to expect.” Not having a well-thought-out brand strategy is one of the problems that Al DiGuido, chief executive officer of digital marketing service Zeta Interactive, sees when businesses first delve into the social-media space.