Independent Thinking » Entrepreneur

Three Words for 2012: Crayons and Continuity

Daria Steigman — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 07:02:24 +0000

For 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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The Secret to Ultimate Competitive Advantage

Daria Steigman — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 09:04:06 +0000

I recently reviewed Beyond Performance. It’s an interesting book in which co-authors Scott Keller and Colin Price argue that:

“Performance-focused leaders invest heavily in those things that enable targets to be met quarter by quarter, year by year. What they tend to neglect, however, are investments in company health—investments in the organization that need to be made today in order to survive and thrive tomorrow.”

What I like about the book is the premise (short-term profits leads to short-term thinking) and that the authors take the reader through five steps designed to guide entrepreneurs and other business leaders to take a more macro look at their own organizations.

Beyond Performance is a good book for people who want to see lots of research and get into the weeds. It’s less useful, however, if you’re looking for a quick read with some simple takeaways.

You can read my complete review here.

Why Groupon’s Founders Are On the Way Out

Daria Steigman — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 09:04:39 +0000

Groupon went public on Friday, and it was reported to be the largest IPO since Google. I don’t get it.

The founders took $900 million in cash from the company before it went public. Which suggests they think the company is overvalued (and they want their money while it’s there) or they don’t plan to stick around to find out. Either way, it’s not a vote of confidence.

There was a long, fascinating article in Business Insider last week that looks at the history of Groupon. It’s a tale of start-up woes and poor management, a revolving door for top talent, out-of-control sales commissions, and spurning an offer from Google reportedly out of fears that the deal would be rejected by the SEC on anti-trust grounds.

Here’s a sample:

[CEO Andrew Mason] can’t hang on to a COO. The SEC is asking questions. Industry executives are calling him a ponzi schemer. Early employees are demanding six-figure pay for 9 to 5 hours. One even filed a lawsuit. Merchant customers are screaming. And Mason and his board, having helped themselves to $900 million of cash that could have gone to the company, are are now being blasted for incompetence and greed.

It’s a cautionary tale about rapid growth (and entrepreneurs reading their own press clips). Take a few minutes and dive in. Then I’d love to hear your takeaways.

Photo by Dan4th Nicholas (Flickr).

How to Turn Browsers into Buyers

Daria Steigman — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 15:09:39 +0000

In the age of The Google, you’re nowhere if you can’t be found. Especially by your prospects. As a result, pretty much every business has to be a publisher, and every company has to have something to say besides “BUY ME.” Content matters.

In Content Rules, co-authors Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman have written a bible for savvy entrepreneurs and everyone else who understands that good content is a competitive advantage. The point of great content, they say, is:

“to convert browsers into buyers and customers into regulars or (better yet) rabid fans, ambassadors, and advocates. You do that by deepening your relationship with them, over time, by repeatedly and consistently creating content they care about and want to share freely with their friends and colleagues, and by encouraging them to engage with you and to sign up for things you publish (like an e-mail newsletter or a webinar) or to download a white paper or an ebook.”

You can read the full book review here.

Photo by David Armano (Flickr).

What’s Your Entrepreneurial DNA?

Daria Steigman — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 12:36:33 +0000

Clones might be perfect, but people are intriguing. We’re intriguing because we’re not all the same. We don’t look alike. We don’t act in unison. And we have different strengths—and weaknesses.

There also isn’t “one” entrepreneur. And, in Entrepreneurial DNA, Joe Abraham posits that the person who is suited to try and build the next Google isn’t the same person who should be opening a consultancy.

Abraham identifies four types of entrepreneurs and provides an assessment tool to help you identify your entrepreneurial DNA profile (mine is Specialist-Builder). Much of the book is then devoted to a description of each DNA type followed by seven business optimization strategies for each. They’re all things you might want to consider doing based on your business strengths and weaknesses. There are also exercises for putting what you’ve learned into action.

Read about the four entrepreneurial DNAs and my complete book review here.

Photo by John Goode (Flickr).

5 Myths About Entrepreneurs

Daria Steigman — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 10:05:06 +0000

Check out this instructive post by Vivek Wadhwa, director of research at Duke University’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Research Commercialization. In it, he explores five myths about entrepreneurs:

Typical U.S. tech entrepreneurs are in their 20s.
Entrepreneurs are born, not made.
College dropouts make the best entrepreneurs.
Women can’t cut it in the tech world.
Innovation requires venture capital.

These are myths, not facts.

There’s some interesting data in the article that debunks the conventional wisdom in some circles.

Photo by +Rex (Flickr).

Cracking the Entrepreneur Equation

Daria Steigman — Mon, 23 May 2011 10:05:24 +0000

The next time someone tells you how lucky you are to “work for yourself” or “be your own boss,” hand them a copy of The Entrepreneur Equation.

Some days I wish there were a magic potion, a special key, a secret sauce. A wand I could wave that would mystically make my business hum along without having to worry simultaneously about budgets, business development, clients, networking, professional development, and all those pesky administrative activities.

Wouldn’t it be nice to just spend a day doing the business instead of working in it?

In The Entrepreneur Equation, Carol Roth explores what it takes to be successful and posits that “entrepreneurship-fits-all” is a big misconception. She’s right, and I love her for pointing out that:

“You can do anything you put your mind to, but just because you can doesn’t mean you should.”

The book is broken down into two key sections.

Assessing Your Fit—Roth talks about running a business (and often doing less of what you love to do), the customers/investors/employees who are often your real bosses, the importance of both experience and business savvy, your risk tolerance, and the difference between ideas and execution. Sample Fare: “You may have gotten your hair cut every two months for your entire life, but that doesn’t mean you know how to run a beauty salon. When you are familiar with something, you may have a perspective on it, but that does not equate to business experience.”

Assessing the Business Fit—Roth focuses in on understanding the opportunity and what you have to give up to start up. Sample Fare: “If you do not (or cannot) evaluate whether you will be making an appropriate return on your investment, and whether the financial trade-off of the business is worth the risk from a financial perspective, stop, drop, and absolutely do not quit your day job.”

While I don’t agree with all the author’s assessments (for example, I believe you can have far more control over your business than the book suggests), Roth has written a useful book for wannabe entrepreneurs to assess how much of their enthusiasm is about the idea of owning a business versus the reality of running one every day. So the next time someone tells you how lucky you are to “work for yourself” or “be your own boss,” just hand them a copy of The Entrepreneur Equation.

5 Steps to Pivot Your Business for Growth

Daria Steigman — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 10:07:02 +0000

In Energize Growth Now, author Lisa Nirell discusses five stages of growth (startup, growth, advanced growth, plateau, and decline) and the challenges entrepreneurs face as they move from one stage to the next. The book aims to help founders and other CEOs identify where their businesses stand today and what strategies they will need to successfully pivot to more growth–rather than to slowly descend into decline.

Companies facing a plateau have two choices: (1) address and fix the roadblocks to growth, or (2) avoid the problem and threaten their long-term potential. Nirell calls the process of pivoting to advanced growth “scaling the second brick wall,” and identifies five areas of focus:

Repositioning
Developing solid distribution and referral networks
Defining and strengthening the company’s functionality
Expanding capabilities
Building a succession strategy

Read the details and my complete book review here.

Bonus Reading: My latest Workshifting.com post is out. The topic is Workshifting from the ICU, and it’s about the challenges of workshifting during a crisis. Plus it asks: Where’s the craziest place you’ve worked from lately?

*Disclosure: I received a free copy of Energize Growth Now in exchange for agreeing to review it–but without any restrictions on what I might say.

Photo by Christopher Sessums (Flickr).

Why Are Entrepreneurs Slow to Adopt Social Media?

Daria Steigman — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 10:17:00 +0000

This “SmartPulse” poll of SmartBrief on Entrepreneurs readers caught my eye the other day. That’s because a whopping 69 percent of respondents said they “never” or rarely work on social media for their business.

We talk about social media a lot. And because we see the benefits for our businesses, and the critical value in a 24/7 real-time environment, we think everyone else must see it too. But maybe we’re just spending a lot of time talking to ourselves (using social media tools, naturally).

Give yourself a high-five if you’re using social media in your business. Because it seems you are at the tip of the adoption curve.

What’s your take?

Is 2011 the Year the Workforce Grows Up?

Daria Steigman — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 09:15:38 +0000

Over at Small Business Labs, Steve King set out his top 10 business trends for 2011. At number 9: “Freelancers Realize They’re Small Business Owners.” King identifies two categories of contingent workers: those embracing freelancing and those stuck with it because of a lack of full-time job options. He writes:

Both groups will increasingly see themselves as long-term freelancers and realize to be successful they will need to view themselves as small business owners. [Emphasis mine.] This shift in thinking will improve their businesses and result in a stronger, more successful freelance community.

I agree completely with King’s premise. To succeed in business, you have to have a business mind. That falls right into my definition of Independent Thinking, which says in part that “to venture out on your own, you have to be great at your core business and savvy enough to manage everything else.”

But I think his conclusion is wrong.

It’s just not that easy to be a business owner, much less an entrepreneur. You have to understand that it is about more than just picking up projects or handing out business cards at a networking event. It’s about managing clients, marketing, branding, budgeting, forecasting, innovating, learning, business development–and getting the paying work done.

And you have to really want it.

I’ve seen some freelancers be very successful freelancers. Some independent contractors try to be business people and fail miserably. Some business people try business ownership and be completely lost. Looking at the landscape of the unemployed, it’s rare that I meet people who get how to pivot to small business ownership.

Are there some? Sure. But a trend? I’m not seeing signs of it.

Photo by Obliot (Flickr).