From the category archives:

Entrepreneurship

Are You Embracing Risk?

by Daria Steigman on January 23, 2012

Why Mistakes Are Good, Business, Entrepreneurship, Independent ThinkingI had a conversation with my mom recently about an apparel retailer that is going out of business. She had attributed their fate to a declining economy. My own take: the clothing was staid–and there’s a limited market for boring. The company never took a risk. It didn’t try to refresh, modernize, reinvent for changing styles.

Successful businesses don’t sit still.

There’s a reason abandon is one of my 3 words for 2012.

There’s a terrific piece on Inc.com about taking risks and making mistakes. Author Paul Schoemaker points out:

If you have ever flown in an airplane, used electricity from a nuclear power plant, or taken an antibiotic, you have benefited from someone’s brilliant mistake. Each of these life-changing innovations was the result of many missteps and an occasional insight that turned a mistake into a surprising portal of discovery.

His point: you have to take risks, and test things, and be willing to fail (i.e., make a mistake). It’s a short article and well worth the read.

Photo by Brett Jordan (Flickr).

 

 

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Why the Small Business Haters Have It All Wrong

by Daria Steigman on January 19, 2012

Small Business Hidden Treasures, Independent ThinkingHave you noticed a trend lately disparaging small businesses (especially solo-owned ones)?

It’s a bit ironic that the people who are taking chances, thinking creatively, and testing out new products and services are getting slammed for not creating  jobs at a time when the economy is mired in inactivity.

The haters have it all wrong.

We’re not too big to fail. But we’re small enough to succeed.

One big thread in this conversation seems to revolve around employment. At one level, the naysayers have it absolutely right: I’m not hiring.

But that’s not my business model. My model is to partner. Which, last time I checked, generates income for other people so that they can pay bills, buy groceries, and shop at the mall–all the same stuff that salaried jobs enable, albeit at a much smaller scale. But I’m just one small business among many.

It’s not just about jobs.

There is a jobs crisis. But don’t blame small businesses for it.

I’m not an economist, but jobs don’t spring from nowhere. We need a reboot, and that’s going to require innovation, creativity, research and development, and risk-taking. (These and a bunch of other things too.)

Ashvini Saxena had a terrific post recently on how Entrepreneurship Benefits the Economy More Than Just Generating Jobs. In it, he talks about four other factors:

  • Entrepreneurs invent.
  • Entrepreneurs optimize.
  • Entrepreneurs find hidden demand (and create plans to exploit it).
  • Entrepreneurs hire people with skills.

Read Saxena’s post as well as the smart conversation in the comments.

Have you noticed an attack on small business? What’s your take?

Photo by Jan Tik (Flickr).

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Three Words for 2012: Crayons and Continuity

by Daria Steigman on January 3, 2012

Dancing Crayons, Business, WorkflowFor 2012, I’ve decided that I don’t need to reinvent the wheel.

Last year, I picked out 3 little words–crayons, velcro, and abandon–to guide my business. The whole point was to keep me focused on moving forward, while giving myself permission to take risks again. And to have fun and be creative.

I found the right guiding principles.

Since “a continuous or connected whole” (aka, continuity) is an asset, I’m going to keep these words front and center for another year.

What are your guiding principles for 2012?

Photo by evoo73 (Flickr).

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Books, Velcro, and Celebrating Success

by Daria Steigman on December 27, 2011

12 Candles for 12 Books on Business, Entrepreneurship, and Social MediaHow do you measure success?

There’s a lot of conversation around business success, what it means, and how to measure it. (And we probably talk even more sometimes about lazy metrics and poor measurement.)

I’m not going to talk about measurement at all today. Just success. Because sometimes you need to celebrate the small victories.

One of my 2011 goals was to read more business books. I set two goals: (1) to read at least one book a month about business, entrepreneurship, and/or marketing communications; and (2) to review a book a month.

Velcro helps.

Velcro was one of my three little words for 2011. In a blog post to start the year, I wrote:

I’m good at coming up with ideas, but sometimes I need more focus to see them come to fruition… I need to keep the velcro handy to keep me locked in.

It worked. I started the year thinking about how 21st century businesses are putting the power of collaboration and openness to work. I also read about what makes a good entrepreneur and how to tap into your entrepreneurial DNA, received tips on how businesses can leverage social media to thrive, and ended the year thinking about being weird.

12 Books for 12 Months

Here’s what was on my 2011 reading list:

As for 2012? I have four books in the queue, including Mastering Uncertainty and The Introvert’s Guide to Business. Stay tuned.

What successes are you celebrating as 2011 draws to a close?

Photo by D. Sharon Pruitt (Flickr).

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How 1BandID Founder is Using Social Media to Build Virtual Shelf Space

by Daria Steigman on December 19, 2011

1BandID is Branding, 1 Customer at a TimeWhat do you do when the big boys own all the shelf space?

One approach is to build a virtual shelf, one person at a time. That’s what Joe Vukson is doing.

I met Vukson via Twitter earlier this year after I saw a press release about a new runner ID product. I tweeted to a friend that I didn’t understand how the product was any different from what was already on the market. Vukson chimed in, asking me what I meant. So we started tweeting back and forth as I tried to explain that I didn’t see any competitive differentiation. (I was wrong, but more on that in a minute.)

It wasn’t until the conversation had run its course that I learned that 1BandID is his product.

The Virtual Shelf Works

1BandID has a competitive differentiator: Vukson himself. In addition to engaging with people one-on-one, the budding entrepreneur moderates an on-point bimonthly Twitter chat (#trichat) and manages an active Facebook page. And he’s a runner and triathlete, so he’s walking the walk as he builds his community.

The big boys may own the storefront space, but who would you rather buy from?  I’m sending people to 1BandID–because I know Joe.

Disclosure: Vukson sent me the red 1BandID pictured above. The best part: my running motto, “Forward Motion,” etched in there with all the contact info. But I hope you know that free swag does not influence what I choose to write.

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