Top 10 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make Before They Even StartWritten by Cherilyn R. Lester
So you want to start a business. You have an idea. Lets say you want to be a carpenter. You print some brochures, some business cards, and take out an ad in Yellow Pages. You pay $600 for a website and a domain name that tells everyone about your amazing credentials and experience. You distribute your fliers at a local grocery store. And then you wait. And wait. And wait… Nothing happens. But, that’s what everyone does, isn’t it? Print out some brochures, tell everyone how great you are, and wait for money to roll in. Stop right there. You have just made top 10 mistakes entrepreneurs make. Mistake # 1 : First, being a “carpenter” is too general. There are a million carpenters in world, but only successful ones have something to concentrate on. Wood carving, house renovation, specialized pieces. Like old saying goes, “Jack of all trades, master of none.” Mistake # 2 : If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. An idea is not a business plan, or a marketing plan, or even just a goal. It is simply an idea. Although planning process may seem long and tedious now, it will benefit you more than you could imagine in future. For example, when you are seeking funding, when you are joining an association of professionals, when your goals change, when your business changes, or if you take on a partner or investor. Your plan should guide you, but not constrain you. If something in your plan doesn’t fit just right, change it. Your business plan will never have a final draft. Mistake # 3 : Brochures and business cards are GARBAGE to start-up businesses! You will spend far more producing them than they will produce for you. Ignoring high cost of printing these materials, and costs associated in designing them if you aren’t proficient yourself, most start-up businesses change too quickly for these materials to be effective for more than a short period, sometimes as little as days. If it costs $1000 to print these first time, and $1000 to design them first time, imagine how much you will pay if your brochures beat statistics and last 2 months. If alterations to design cost $500, it costs $1500 every time your business changes. If your business changes every 2 months, you can expect to spend at least $9000 that year on brochures and business cards. Yes, that is NINE THOUSAND DOLLARS in lost revenue, over something that is less effective than grafitti. Don’t waste your time, or your money, on brochures and business cards until you can keep your typical sales presentation same for at least 6 months. Otherwise, these things aren’t worth trouble. Mistake # 4 : Okay, Yellow Pages. Lets take a look in Yellow Pages and see how many other trillions of carpenters there are. Which ones stand out? Definitely not tiny ad in corner. Probably not one-liner. And as a start-up, that is all you would be able to afford. For one or two clients per year this would bring you, it is better to wait until your marketing budget can afford to buy large, extravagant and eye-catching ads. Mistake # 5 : $600 for a website and domain name? A website and domain name before a marketing plan? This scenario is already causing headaches for those of you “in know”. Best idea, design your own website for free if you can. Second best, get a friend or relative to design it for free. Third best, pay a minimal fee for complicated stuff and rest can be done by yourself and a relative. Only if no one in world can help you, do you want to hire a professional to do whole thing for you. And when you do, try and get it on 30 or 60 days post. That way, their new website will be generating money for you before you pay. If you do pay upfront, and can’t get around it, ask if they do free updates. You are guaranteed to change a thing or two, probably at least once a week as you test out your new site. If you pay $600, it had better be a good website – because your entire marketing budget just paid for it.
| | Meetings, Bloody MeetingsWritten by Marilyn Manning, Ph.D.
MEETINGS, BLOODY MEETINGS (reprinted from February 1998 issue of Channel Magazine)How do you keep your most talented employees, staff, board members, or association members focused and motivated in meetings, let alone motivating them to attend? The question has frustrated most of us. Meetings consume ever greater amounts of time, money and energy. Think of last meeting you attended. Was it best use of everyone’s time? Did you walk out with a sense of exhilaration and a clear set of actions and decisions? Or, did you wonder why you even bothered to attend? People need to feel valued and that they are making a difference not only in their work, but in way they spend their time. Do you know what each of your people want and find most important? Do your meetings reflect needs of people involved? A recent study found that people want to be part of a worthwhile enterprise, be influential in decision-making, and create and contribute to mutually agreed upon objectives. Meetings can be opportunity for this to happen. These check lists may help you provide more meaningful forums. Before meeting: 1. Is time invested worth cost? 2. Are key people able to attend? (if not, reschedule) 3. Did you inform all participants of outcomes, objectives, and agenda? 4. Did you handle logistics: meeting room, handouts, audio & visual needs, markers, equipment, etc. During meeting: 1. State and agree to specific outcomes or objectives. 2. Display an agreed upon agenda. Items can have time allotments. 3. Agree on ground rules such as: •start and end on time •no side conversations •respect all input •equal participation •focus on agenda •come prepared 4. Agree on meeting roles such as: •facilitator: assists group unobtrusively to focus on accomplishing given task, helps balance content and process issues, supports ground rules, and brings closure. •recorder: writes down in full view of group (flip chart, white board) their key ideas. Records important issues not on agenda on a “parking lot” chart. Keeps a separate chart for actions and key decisions. •time keeper: keeps time and gives periodic warnings. •participants: take responsibility for full participation, focus on agenda, honor ground rules. 5. Meeting evaluation: Dedicate a few minutes before closure of each meeting to ask: •Did we accomplish our desired outcomes? (if not, why not?) •Did we keep focused and productive? •What worked best in this meeting? •What could we improve next time? •Was this meeting best use of everyone’s time?
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