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Guest Post: Run Your Business Ideas Through a GRINDER!

March 10, 2010 in GROW, Guest Post, Videos | No comments

My friend and marketing coach at Biztrek, Gil Gerretsen, contributed a Guest Post for this week.  Twelve great questions you need to ask yourself before getting into a business venture.  It’s a Guest Video Post – check it out:

Many people have called Gil Gerretsen an oracle – a leader who has a unique ability to divine the potential and future of businesses.  He is CEO of BizTrek International, Inc., a worldwide alliance of small business owners learning and sharing the veracity (truth and power) of 12 Triggers that always produce more customers.  He is also a popular and accomplished business speaker and has been recognized in the Who’s Who directories since the mid 1990’s.  If you want to grow a business, then you need to plug into Gil … ’nuff said: http://www.biztrek.com

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Guest Post: The Biggest Myth in Entrepreneurship Dispelled (Part 3 of 3)

March 3, 2010 in Entrepreneurial Endeavors, GROW, Guest Post | No comments

I hope you are armed with your BOSI Entrepreneurship Profile. If not, read my last post so you can get that done.

Remember Bob, Omar, Sue and Ingrid? (HA! you just figured out that their names are the acronym for BOSI).  Let’s go back to their top frustrations…

Bob: People who didn’t take ownership and perform to his extremely high standards.  Bob is showing signs of having a dominant “Builder” DNA. You’ll recall from the BOSI Entrepreneurship book that the Achilles heel of the Builder is relationships. Bob blows through people faster than a tornado in Wichita. Bob also tends to be very controlling around his subjects so talented people tend to leave his kingdom for greener pastures.

In order for Bob to achieve his vision for the company, he must modify his strategic plan for life to focus on slowing down for key relationships. This includes his staff, key management, spouse and children. If not, he’ll always find himself far ahead of the pack wondering why they are whimpering in the corner or following at a great distance. Empathy and meekness need to become a pursuit for Bob. He also needs to give up ownership and control to his key executives if he wants them to perform. He has to give them the freedom to fail. That has to go far beyond rhetoric and actually manifest itself in operating systems and reporting structures. He has to keep Mr. Hyde locked up in the dungeon and focus on being Dr. Jekyll.

Strategically, Bob should consider outsourcing work rather than trying to keep control of every single task within his employee base. Areas like social media and internet marketing are growing at such a fierce pace that trying to deliver those initiatives in-house just to say it is done in-house could prove to be a competitive dis-advantage.

Susan, the CPA: Standing out in a crowded marketplace.  Susan is a classic “Specialist” DNA. She has worked hard to build her expertise but unfortunately falls short when it comes to marketing it. Susan’s Achilles heel is asking for help. She is great at helping and consulting for others, but highly doubts that someone else could provide the same quality of help. Susan, that must change for your business to thrive.

Take your business development strategy as it exists today and toss it out the window. Chances are, it is safe, predictable and the mirror image of your average competitor. Do something different and out-of-the-box. Sit down with some smart marketeers. People who are just as good at what they do as you are at doing what you do. Design a new plan from the ground up and execute it. You’ll leave your competition so far in the dust, they’ll be scratching their heads wondering what just happened.

Omar, the MLM Leader:  Success is a moving target.  Omar my friend, you are the “Opportunist”. A highly optimistic and energetic promoter of any financial opportunity that promises a very large and shiny pot of gold. You are the ultimate risk taker but you need to cool those jets just a bit. There are two key strategic decisions you must make to achieve your goal of financial freedom. First, you must pick one business opportunity and pledge to love, honor and cherish it till death (or insolvency) do you part. Dump all the mistresses (so to speak) and focus on #1.  Second, sit down and build a 3-year strategic plan and then engage a coach or advisory board to hold you accountable to execute that plan. Give them the permission to smack you around if you get off course or get distracted by shiny little objects in the sand. Focus – and you’ll have your goal.

Ingrid, the Scientist: Overwhelmed by business operations.  Ingrid must find a team to run her company for her. She needs to spend her time and passion doing R&D. Ingrid needs a trustworthy team of advisors around her who can help her make key decisions. She also needs a team (in-house or outsourced, but preferably outsourced) to take her product(s) to market. Ingrid will be much happier working from a home office than sitting in the corner office. She will be much more successful with a network of dealers/distributors than a full-time sales team doing trade shows and submitting expense reports.

The biggest myth in entrepreneurship is that we are all the same. Bob, Susan, Omar and Ingrid are proof of it. Their DNA is different and so should be their strategic, marketing and operating plans.

Share your thoughts, comments and questions about your BOSI Entrepreneurship journey above.

The entrepreneur’s biggest fan, Joe Abraham is a serial entrepreneur who has been involved as founder, executive or advisor in the startup and growth of companies in over a dozen industries from financial services to motorsports. Today, he is managing partner at En Corpus, a startup and small business accelerator that serves closely held companies. Joe is a featured speaker at industry events and an expert to the media on the topics of entrepreneurship, small business development, business startup and free enterprise. He lives in the Chicago area. You can connect with Joe and learn more at http://www.JoeAbraham.com.

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Guest Post: The Biggest Myth in Entrepreneurship Dispelled (Part 2 of 3)

February 24, 2010 in Entrepreneurial Endeavors, GROW, Guest Post | 1 comment

Last time we got to listen in on a hotel lobby bar conversation between entrepreneurs Bob, Susan, Omar and Ingrid as they talked about their biggest frustrations in business.

You probably found yourself connecting with one of their frustrations more than the others.  Why? Because you share part of Bob, Susan, Omar or Ingrid’s entrepreneurial DNA.  So what is this “entrepreneurial DNA” hogwash? You ask.

Put simply, it is your predisposition and modus operandi in business. See, the reason you hired your office manager or entered into the last joint venture wasn’t a random occurrence. It was a predictable event based on your DNA.  I know, I know. I’m really overselling this thing so let’s get to the brass tacks shall we?

If I told you that you were about to get on a highly entertaining and profitable ride over the next 5 minutes, would you jump on? Or do you have something else you need to handle at this very minute? (Note: Check to make sure voicemail light is not blinking…)  Assuming you said yes, click the link below. You’re going to see my smiling mug on a video followed by the opportunity to discover your unique entrepreneurial profile. A couple of minute later, you’ll see my smiling mug again on a video (watch the whole video before clicking the “next” button).

http://www.bosiceo.com/bosiquiz

Just follow the instructions I give you and the ride will continue. In your final step, you will get to download a complimentary copy of BOSI Entrepreneurship, my book in electronic format (thank Blumer for that gift). In that book, you’ll find the key to unlocking your entrepreneurial DNA. More importantly, you’ll begin to dive into your predispositions in business (and life) and begin to understand why you do the things you do. You’ll discover why some things in business come so easy to you while other things feel like you are pushing a bowling ball through a garden hose!

Most importantly, you’ll start to look at your business plan, HR strategy, marketing/lead generation and operations differently than you ever have before. Chances are, you’re doing a lot of things very well for your entrepreneurial DNA. That’s your God-given intuition at work. But I hope that BOSI Entrepreneurship will help you find some faulty DNA in your plan as well. DNA that was “grafted in” from people at your mastermind group, networking event or family who don’t have the same DNA as you. DNA that if allowed to remain in your business plan, could cause the same damage as free radicals cause on the human body.

So take 5 minutes right now and take the BOSI Quiz. Discover your entrepreneurial profile. Then download your complimentary copy of BOSI Entrepreneurship and dive into the deep end of the BOSI Entrepreneurship pool. (We’ll provide the floaties if needed).

http://www.bosiceo.com/bosiquiz

In my final post in this series next week, we’ll go back to Bob, Susan, Omar and Ingrid and look to solve their frustration using the strategic decisions that are best suited for their entrepreneurial DNA.

Oh, one last thing. It would be fun to have you come back to this post and submit a comment with your BOSI profile. Not that we’re trying to be matchmakers or anything but maybe, just maybe you’ll meet someone who has a very complimentary BOSI profile to you. You can connect and structure a joint venture, form a partnership or just go out to a romantic dinner. We’ll leave those decisions up to you.

The biggest myth in entrepreneurship is that we are all the same. Make sure to find out how unique you really are!

The entrepreneur’s biggest fan, Joe Abraham is a serial entrepreneur who has been involved as founder, executive or advisor in the startup and growth of companies in over a dozen industries from financial services to motorsports. Today, he is managing partner at En Corpus, a startup and small business accelerator that serves closely held companies. Joe is a featured speaker at industry events and an expert to the media on the topics of entrepreneurship, small business development, business startup and free enterprise. He lives in the Chicago area. You can connect with Joe and learn more at http://www.JoeAbraham.com.

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Guest Post: The Biggest Myth in Entrepreneurship Dispelled (Part 1 of 3)

February 17, 2010 in Entrepreneurial Endeavors, GROW, Guest Post | 3 comments

Lets listen in on a hotel lobby bar conversation between some entrepreneurs as they talk about their biggest frustration in business. 

Bob, the manufacturing company owner: “My biggest frustration is having a vision and drive so big that my key executives and staff have a hard time keeping up. I mean, they are the best people money can buy, but they just don’t get the big picture. I’ve laid out all the systems they need to scale this company up in a big way. But they just don’t take true ownership of the opportunity. I have gone through at least half a dozen VP’s of sales but we’re still nowhere near where I expected us to be.”

Susan, the CPA: “My biggest frustration is standing out in a crowded marketplace of competitors. I know most of my competitors in town. None of them really come close in knowledge, expertise and service quality. I do all the networking events. I ask for referrals. We’ve done some advertising with marginal results. But we haven’t cracked the code on getting clients at the pace we’d like.”

Omar, the MLM Leader: “Well, I don’t have any employees to frustrate me and I don’t plan to have any. The product I am marketing is so unique that I really don’t have any competitors. So neither of your frustrations are a big deal for me. However, my big issue is getting hung out to dry when business opportunities go south. It almost seems like success is a moving target. Just when I have landed the right income stream and started to build it up, someone or something pulls the rug out from under me and I have to start over.”

Ingrid, the scientist: “Wow! Just listening to the three of you makes my head spin. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know the first thing about business. I feel like I am stuck at square one. I’d much rather have someone take my product and market it for me. Better yet, I wish they’d just go and build out the entire company and pay me a small royalty. I don’t want the fame or fortune. I just want my product to get into people’s hands.”

As you listen in on the conversation in the lobby bar, do you find yourself resonating more with Bob, Susan, Omar or Ingrid?  Chances are, you connected with one of their frustrations more than the other three. And that says a LOT about you as an entrepreneur. A LOT more than you can even imagine! It begins to expose your entrepreneurial DNA.  See, the biggest myth in entrepreneurship has been that we are all the same. That all entrepreneurs are cut from the same piece of cloth. That we are essentially like the “borg” in Star Trek…assimilated into wearing the same uniform and deploying the identical game plan.  But is that really true? Are Bob, Susan, Omar and Ingrid really the same? Will they build the same size or type of business? Do they have the same appetites for risk and opportunity?

What about yourself? Are you like every other entrepreneur in your rolodex? Do you think, operate and manage the same way they do?

The answer is a strong and emphatic NO…right?  All entrepreneurs are NOTthe same. There are actually 4 dramatically different “DNA’s” in the world of entrepreneurism. Each DNA has it’s unique set of strengths, weaknesses and frustrations. Each DNA also has it’s own achilles heel.

You’ll learn more about that in our next post. For now, here’s the question:  Are you more like Bob, Susan, Omar or Ingrid? Use the comment box above to weigh in! 

 

The entrepreneur’s biggest fan, Joe Abraham is a serial entrepreneur who has been involved as founder, executive or advisor in the startup and growth of companies in over a dozen industries from financial services to motorsports. Today, he is managing partner at En Corpus, a startup and small business accelerator that serves closely held companies. Joe is a featured speaker at industry events and an expert to the media on the topics of entrepreneurship, small business development, business startup and free enterprise. He lives in the Chicago area. You can connect with Joe and learn more at http://www.JoeAbraham.com.

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How to Find and Develop Great Clients

February 10, 2010 in GROW, Marketing and Branding, Networking | 8 comments

Finding great clients is a tricky proposition when running your company.  It’s not something you do once, but something you constantly work on and make a focus of your service to your clients.

Here are some thoughts…

1. It’s really more a matter of making sure you don’t let the un-great clients in your company in the first place.  That takes skill and courage.  Study who comes in the front door.  If they bear common traits of being whiners, ungrateful and self-absorbed, note to self – don’t let them in next time!  And go ahead and fire them while you’re at it.

2. Finding and developing great clients takes a long time.  Building relationships is the best way to find great clients.  They tend to trust you more, pay you more, say “thank you” more, understand your failures more readily, etc.  Time builds trust, and trust is what makes a great client relationship.

3. Social media is certainly a way to build relationships now while developing trust with clients around the globe.  This too takes time.  You’ll bump into someone on Twitter as you exchange conversation, and a relationship will develop.  It’s happened to us many times, and now some of those folks are clients and guest bloggers.

4. I think traditional advertising is going away for those industries relying on relationship to grow.  Mass advertising can still be viable for some companies, but if you are developing great clients, then relationship is what you want, not the latest call from someone who saw your billboard on the side of the highway.  Be careful with mass advertising.  It can suck your company dry and possibly send you mediocre clients.

5. You’ll probably get most of your clients from your current clients (aka Referrals).  That tells you where you should be spending your time advertising!

6. Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, is always talking about customer experience.  He stopped spending money on traditional marketing and instead spent money on customer experience.  He lets his customers do his advertising for him.  The experience your clients have with you is going to make them talk… good or bad.  You want client evangelists, which means you have to be careful who you let become a client in the first place (point # 1).  Make the experience your clients have with you begin from the very moment they meet you, hear a response from you after the first meeting and finally buy a product or service from you.  Develop internal systems to speak to them the minute they hit your door, and make that continue for a few weeks after they leave.  Remember, experience with you is everything when it comes to developing great clients.

Laura MacPherson, Creative Director of northstar creative (a reader of the THRIVEal blog and a client) recently commented on a post and asked for a followup to our post.  We’re glad to oblige.  Thanks, Laura, for reading!

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Guest Post: How to Exit Your Business With Style

February 3, 2010 in Entrepreneurial Endeavors, GROW, Guest Post | No comments

Okay class! Eyes forward. That includes you Mr. Blumer.

Today’s lesson – How an entrepreneur can leave the business on his/her own terms, and in style.

No, Mr. Blumer! That does NOT mean sneaking out in the middle of the night and heading to some place in Belize you saw on House Hunters International! Now pay attention!

Think about the life-span of a business as being a week, and retirement being the weekend. Most entrepreneurs don’t deal with the issue of converting the value of their business to “retirement capital” until Friday afternoon at 2:30. By then, the private business owner is disposing of the business, probably taking an installment deal. The bad news is he has missed opportunities to maximize the value of his exit.

The good news is his prayer life really improves as he begs Divine Providence for the company to cash flow long enough for him to get his money out.

Thursday morning is a much better idea. Wednesday afternoon is even better.

Look my entrepreneurial students, you and the people you invited onto your bus have built value into the company. How long did that take? Probably longer than an installment deal to sell it.

The starting point is to ask three questions. What is that Mr. Blumer? No! The questions have nothing to do with the first three winners of American Idol!!!!!

First, you have to ask when do you want to leave your company? Fix a date, you can adjust it later if need be.  Next, what is the total after-tax income you want from all sources, including the converted value of your company? Finally, to whom would you sell your company? To a third party, or to an insider?  Don’t worry about specifics yet.

Those questions, especially the first two, zero in on the essential point of it all – your goal is not the sale of your business, it’s a new life outside of your company. So entrepreneurial students, you can retire from your company by waiting to the last minute, and do a quickly assembled sales transaction. Think: hitting the drive-thru at Taco Bell for your sit-down dinner party.

Yes, Mr. Blumer, your point about the “end results” of eating at Taco Bell is well-taken. (Sigh.)

Or, you can take some time to plan an exit on your own terms – Think: a real dinner party. Who will be on your guest list? What will be the main course? What you will have for dessert?  How about after-dinner entertainment?  You can dine in style, but only if you make plans.  What is it, Mr. Blumer? Yes, your plans can include that “pants on the ground guy from American Idol.”

Class ::SNIFF:: dismissed!

Frank Warren III, is Senior Member at Warren & Martzin, L.L.C., Counsellors at Law, where he, and partner B. Faith Martzin, help entrepreneurial business and professional people build value, and plan successful exits. When he is not collaborating with CPA’s, business coaches and financial advisors, Frank can sometimes be found searching for the perfect lap as a kart racer and racing instructor. You can email him with questions, comments, and invitations to fine dining at frank.w@warrenandmartzin.com or kartwriter83@gmail.com.

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Client Highlight: Squared Eye, LLC

January 31, 2010 in Client Highlight, GROW | No comments

Here we are ready to prove it again: we have the best clients in the world!  Matthew Smith, Principal of Squared Eye, LLC is a web development extraordinaire!  Working with contractors and clients all over the world, Squared Eye, LLC delivers some of the best the web has to offer:

US Institute for Peace Lighting Africa

Reformed University Fellowship Pattern Tap

Matthew and I spent some time together doing a little strategy on the future of his company.  Squared Eye, LLC relies on our firm for help in business strategy, tax consulting and new software services.  Matthew and his team see value in what we do, and we love to serve them.

Jason M. Blumer, CPA, and Matthew Smith of Squared Eye

Learning How the Change to an S Corp Will Drive you Crazy (...but Save Tax Money!)

Matthew is your typical serial entrepreneur - finding needs in the market place motivates Matthew to build what is not already available.  His Pattern Tap site (“where tasty design is now on tap”) is highly acclaimed as a goto site for designers all over the world.  Matthew built this site as a means to provide great design that could not be found in any one place.

The Squared Eye team has a heart to serve those in the creative industries, and mentoring younger companies in the business of design, collaboration and the business of being creative.  We love to serve those that love to serve!

X - (Y / 9) + Guacamole = 12 to the 4th power (Huh?)

We asked Matthew to answer four questions for the client highlight, and here is what we got:

What have you or your organization done to remain competitive and successful?

We found a niche, and ran headlong into it. Our niche is craftsman level web and interface design with an eye for function and form. We’ve also launched several products that showcase that niche. The first is Pattern Tap (http://patterntap.com), a showcase of inspirational design solutions to help web designers make better choices. The second is Pocket, a tool for creating iPhone-sized portfolios – this will launch in 2nd quarter 2010.

What do you or your organization foresee as the greatest business obstacle in the near future?

Moving from small to medium in size. Our niche is design craftsmanship, not management. How do we build business, instead of letting the business build us? We’re working through that one track at a time. The first step we’re taking to deal with that, is by producing products like Pattern Tap that can sustain growth and need less input than client based projects.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

The pleasure I feel in bringing order to chaos. I love conquering a formless thing by giving it a shape and a direction. I’m a visual story teller.

What has the Blumer firm done to assist you in furthering your business and its operations?

Blumer and Associates help Squared Eye strategize about business and tax movements that facilitate a clear path to success. In addition to great tax planning, this year Blumer helped us become an S-Corp which will likely save us over 15k next year. We’re enthusiastic about the future, and we’re glad Blumer is going to be there with us.

Riding Matthew's "virtual" Vespa (it was outside)

Matthew and the whole Squared Eye team are fun to serve and we’re excited to call them clients!

all photos Nill Silver

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The Benefits of Great Clients

January 27, 2010 in GROW, Management and Operations | 8 comments

I’m continually amazed at the great clients we have.  I’ve frustrated a few of them recently with some internal system changes we’ve made to our firm services.  I know they are the best changes for the long run, but they are hard for those who don’t like change.  But we have a relationship with our clients, and they know we are doing our best to bring them knowledgeable service.

Keeping and retaining great clients is a lot of work, but it has it’s benefits:

1.  Great clients are more forgiving when you mess things up, because they realize no one is perfect.

2.  Great clients put up with necessary hard changes, because they know you are vested in their success in the long run.

3.  Great clients are thankful for what you do for them, and they often say “thank you” when they are writing you a check.

4.  Great clients are always teaching you, because you admit to them that you don’t know everything there is to know about what you are doing.

5.  Great clients care about YOUR business, because they know that if your business grows their service will ultimately improve too.

6.  Great clients don’t mind hearing the hard truth, because they know our counsel is meant to help, not make anyone necessarily feel good.

Spend time on developing great clients… it will pay off long into the future.

Jason M. Blumer

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Eating Frogs…

January 21, 2010 in Entrepreneurial Endeavors, GROW, Management and Operations | 1 comment

My daughter... conquering frogs!

Just a few little secrets on dealing with problems and/or conflicts in your business…

1.  If You’ve Got to Eat a Frog, Don’t Spend Too Much Time Looking at it. You are going to encounter problems in your business (and life for that matter).  And if you are the boss, then pushing through those problems and/or conflicts falls on your shoulders.  Figure out what to do, believe in your decision and freakin’ move on.  Once the decision has been made to do whatever it is you need to do, dwelling on the issue becomes paralyzing.  Don’t dwell.  Eat and move on.

2.  If You’ve Got to Eat Two Frogs, Eat the Biggest One First. Similar to #1, you often have two frogs problems and/or conflicts to deal with at any one time (or three, or four, etc.).  Tackle the biggest first.  Tackling big issues takes energy and precious time.  Spend your energy up front knocking out the largest problem before dealing with the small stuff.  Then you’ll have the left over energy you need to deal with smaller issues while continuing to run your business at the same time.

3.  Don’t Eat Frogs if you Don’t Have to. Even better than #1 and #2, preventing problems and/or conflicts is much wiser than wasting time dealing with them when they come around.  This speaks to excellent management and leadership.  Head off the poop before it hits the fan… or pond, in this case.

Jason M. Blumer

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